Category Archives: Health & Safety

Miles Randell and his team of helicopter-flying medics [have] made a lifelong difference to a forest worker who was struck by an 18-metre fir tree and catapulted down a hill. …The worker was in a remote site outside of Squamish, an area where air ambulance staff couldn’t reach. …But [the] specially trained crew, known as a Technical Evacuation Advanced Aero Medical (TEAAM), were called to the site within minutes. …TEAAM is a non-profit society that uses hoists to reach patients in remote settings …”The TEAAM model should be the standard of care for the industry — especially the tree-planting industry,” said John Betts, executive director of the Western Forestry Contractors Association (WFCA). The WFCA and the Truck Loggers Association are lobbying the province and WorksafeBC for additional support for the TEAAM program. The group argues that the service can save millions of dollars in both workers’ compensation and health-care costs.

If it wasn’t for his dad’s hatchet, Alex Woods might not be alive.  On June 26, Woods, a forest pathologist who works for the provincial government of British Columbia, was attacked by an adult black bear while walking alone in the bush not far from the small Gitxsan village of Gitanyow. He survived the encounter, and the bear didn’t. Yesterday afternoon, he told me the story over a few much-needed beers on the patio of his home near Smithers. A lean 54-year-old with a close-cropped silver beard, Woods has been working in the backcountry for decades. He’s a whitewater paddler, hunter, and outdoorsman. Thoughtful and soft-spoken, he was still rattled as he ran through the details. …Woods will be back in the bush again soon, but the battle with the bear is making him think harder about being out alone.

When wildfire smoke enveloped Metro Vancouver last summer, Nikki Rogers noticed soot collecting on the walls of her White Rock condo. …This summer she will take even greater precautions because she is pregnant. And this is the first year that Vancouver Coastal Health and Metro Vancouver have included pregnant women on their list of people especially vulnerable to wildfire smoke, along with asthmatics, the elderly, and people with chronic heart and lung conditions. …Experts believe British Columbians are about to experience another hot, smoke-filled summer. …Since April 1, the B.C. Wildfire Service has recorded 377 fires that have burned more than 110 square kilometres. …Wildfire smoke contains many pollutants, but the most dangerous to human health is fine particulate matter, a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets that are generally 2.5 micrometers or less in size.

…Fires like the blaze that closed lanes on the Sea to Sky Highway may be the new normal for urban dwellers. The consequences include property damage and health risks, particularly for the almost 10 per cent of people who suffer from serious respiratory diseases. The fire season is in its early stages, but the BC Wildfire Service already assesses the fire risk in southwestern B.C. as high to extreme. The District of Squamish teamed up with the Resort Municipality of Whistler this year to develop an evacuation plan as both regions rely on the Sea to Sky Highway as an exit route. Projections from the plan include a potential 13-hour southbound evacuation time on a peak day. That means the wildfire threat has increased for more densely populated — even urban areas — like North Vancouver, which is in the process of updating its evacuation plans. … Life in the wildfire interface zone today requires preparation — staying informed, having a grab-and-go bag and knowing the routes out of your community.

…The hiking company owner Ronda Murdock said the wildfire season on Vancouver Island last year disappointed her customers and many complained about the smoke. …Murdock (Pacific Rainforest Adventure Tours in Parksville) said customers told her last year they’d rerouted their trips because of the smoke, she’s now concerned about how this summer’s wildfires might impact business. “It’s not just the wildfires on the island,” she explained. “It’s the smoke from other areas as well.” …”Our fire danger rating is higher than pretty much everywhere else in the province,” Donna MacPherson, the Coastal Fire Centre’s information officer, told the CBC. …the region is on a high-to-extreme fire danger rating … Blake Johnson (Port Alberni Batstar Kayaking Adventure Tours) says he’s concerned that wildfires might hinder him from expanding his local sea kayaking company to include a cycling business. He said some of his customers have been concerned about their respiratory health. 

Piloting of the New Faller Training Program by all three WorkSafeBC approved administrators (the BC Forest Safety Council, Energy Safety Canada, and
BC Wildfire Service) took place in 2018. Feedback was gathered during this time from all involved via interviews, surveys and workshops. The feedback received from the pilots and from an initial WorkSafeBC review is currently being applied to the program and should be completed by the end of this month for review and approval by the administrators before being submitted to WorkSafeBC for final approval. WorkSafeBC will review the training program starting next month (July) followed by a final pilot this fall, with anticipated final approval and rollout to industry in 2020.

Chad Campbell, Karlie Ward, Bill Chadwick & Jeff Zweig,

Mosaic Forest Management honoured 10 Vancouver Island contractors who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in safety and environmental initiatives this past year. One of those contractors is from Port Alberni. Ryder Contracting Ltd./Camson Contracting Ltd., a team of road construction crews based in Port Alberni, was awarded with an Excellent Safety Culture Award on Wednesday, June 19. Mosaic Forest Management, which includes employees and contractors for both TimberWest and Island Timberlands, achieved a safety performance with the lowest average medical incident rate in five years back in 2018. The downward trend has continued in 2019. …“Safety is our highest priority at Mosaic – nothing supersedes it,” said Jeff Zweig, president and CEO of Mosaic. 

Mike Flannigan

Alberta can expect to see twice as much forest fire and up to 12 times more forest fire smoke a year by 2100 because of global heating, says a University of Alberta wildfire expert. …St. Albert doesn’t usually see wildfires near its borders, but it does get the smoke from them, said Alberta Capital Airshed president Brent Korobanik. …“Wildfires can happen hundreds of kilometres away and have direct impacts on the air we breathe,” Korobanik said, as well as our health. …U of A wildland fire professor Mike Flannigan showed forum-goers stats and charts on how Alberta was seeing more forest fires now than it did several decades ago. …Flannigan said his research suggests Alberta would likely see the amount of land it loses to forest fires each year double by 2100 due to current climate trends. Those fires will burn wider and deeper into the forest floor, which means more smoke – six to 12 times more, he predicted.

…Over the last week, thousands of residents from northern communities in Alberta were evacuated from their homes because of climate-exacerbated wildfires. …At the same, millions of Albertans were exposed to extremely high levels of air pollution as smoke from wildfires blanketed their communities. Edmonton, a city with a population just shy of one million, had Air Quality Health Index readings of 7 to 10-plus last week with a peak of 72 at one point. …High levels of air pollution are harmful for everybody. Nobody is immune. …But they are particularly dangerous for very young children, elderly people and those with pre-existing health conditions. …The premier inferred last week that climate change doesn’t cause forest fires and stated that “carbon taxes don’t fight forest fires in B.C. or Alberta” but neither of those statements reflect the science. 

Environment Canada issued a special air quality statement for Edmonton and much of central, north Alberta. “Smoke from wildfires in northern Alberta is causing poor air quality and reducing visibility in some areas,” the statement reads. “In central parts of the province smoke is expected to move back north by Friday morning as the flow shifts to southeasterly. …The Air Quality Health Index for Edmonton jumped to 10+ — the very high risk category — as of 4 p.m. after fluctuating throughout the morning and afternoon with moderate to high risk measurements of four to seven on the 10 point scale. The blanket of wildfire smoke left eyes stinging and forced several organizations to cancel outdoor activities. Alberta Health Services is advising people to take precautions to minimize the health risk posed by the wildfire smoke.

…“Petr Koncek had the utmost respect for the forest. He just always made sure that the animals that were living there were protected the best that he could — every life was valuable.” The 46-year-old Terrace man was killed in a logging accident down the Douglas Channel near Eagle Bay on April 18 after being struck by a falling tree. According to WorkSafe BC, Petr was falling on the forest road right-of-way when he was struck by a tree felled by another faller. His wife, Fleure Koncek says it’s likely Petr didn’t see it coming. “Safety and quality were his two priorities at work, so its very frustrating that he was so safe and this happened to him,” she says. WorkSafe BC considers manual tree falling is one of the most dangerous professions in the province. Petr’s death was the second out of three harvesting fatalities recorded this year, according to BC Forest Safety Council.

Sarah Henderson

Move over autumnal equinox, there’s a new season in town. …the BC Centre for Disease Control is advising British Columbians to be ready to protect themselves from the potential harmful effects of worsening air quality as wildfires begin to flare up once again. The agency has created a new hub with health information for residents, with fact sheets on health concerns, air cleaners and tips on how to prepare for the anticipated smoke. “​In addition to spring, summer, fall and winter, B.C. has added a fifth season to its calendar — wildfire season,” states the site. “And with the month of May now in full swing, fires are already burning in parts of the province.” …Sarah Henderson, a senior environmental health scientist at the BCCDC, says with annual smokey summers becoming a reality, British Columbians will need to be prepared to protect their health.

WorkSafeBC has fined a forest company $29,049 for the deaths of three workers in a “high-risk” railway accident on northern Vancouver Island. …This isn’t the only case in which a relatively small fine was levied against a company for a worker’s death. …These two cases involving work-place deaths contrast sharply with the $514,991 fine levied against the Township of Langley. …Craig Fitzsimmons, WorkSafeBC, said that the amount of a penalty is based on the nature of the violation, an employer’s history of violations and the size of the employer’s payroll. …The primary purpose of an administrative penalty is to motivate the employer receiving the penalty — and other employers — to comply with occupational health and safety rules, and to keep their workplaces safe, Fitzsimmons added. …Steve Hunt, a western Canada director with the United Steelworkers, representing forest workers, said the fines are insufficient.

…Valid Manufacturing began as a standard, sheet metal and electrical integration shop that produced electrical boxes and cabinets primarily for streets and highways.  …New products are being developed at Valid thanks to their well-funded research and development department… A few years ago, they met with the BC Forestry Council and inquired what was the most serious problem in the industry. Some of the most frequent injuries occur when chip truck drivers are covering their trucks with the tarps needed to keep the chips from flying out. Valid took on the challenge to build an automatic system to accomplish this task, which included designing an arm that had to defy gravity to reach out far enough to accomplish the job. They are now field testing the prototype …with the hope that… trailers on the road in B.C. will be equipped with this high-tech device that will cut down on injuries.

Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, has issued the following statement in response to the crash of an aircraft transporting BC Wildfire Service contractors in the Northwest Fire Centre: “Shortly after 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, 2019, a Cessna 182 fixed-wing aircraft crashed about 95 kilometres northeast of Smithers. On board were four contractors who were conducting infrared scans of some of the 2018 wildfires, on behalf of the BC Wildfire Service. “The crash site was located shortly before 11 a.m. Three of the four people on board did not survive, but one person was transported from the site by a Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre helicopter and is now being treated in a Vancouver hospital. That person is expected to recover.

Lorne Borgal

…The three men who died in the plane crash northeast of Smithers on Saturday were part of a crew contracted by the BC Wildfire Service to do aerial imaging. “A conscious male passenger was seen outside the crash site, but due to the landscape the helicopter was unable to land,” said RCMP Sgt. Darren Durnin in a statement. Rescuers were lowered from the helicopter further away and then hiked to the crash site. The survivor of the crash was taken to hospital and remains in stable condition. A social media post from the wife of one of the victims …has confirmed that Lorne Borgal was a passenger on the Cessna 182 that went down near Smithers Landing. Borgal was the former president and CEO of Hudson Bay Mountain Resort in Smithers. “I understand …the plane Lorne was aboard (he was not flying) crashed killing Lorne, his colleague Amir, and the pilot Pete from Lakes District Air in Burns Lake with 1 survivor,” the post reads.

Lori Iannidinardo

In spite of a rocky run-up, the annual Day of Mourning ceremony for fallen workers at Lake Cowichan’s Forestworkers Memorial Park went smoothly Sunday, April 28. There was some doubt Friday, April 26 that it was going to happen at all. A late message from the Nanaimo, Duncan & District Labour Council — the usual organizers of the event — said that they wouldn’t be holding it. No reason was given. A quick post on Facebook to let everyone in Lake Cowichan know led to an immediate response. Lakers would do it themselves, since it was an important recognition of the area’s deep roots in the forest industry. Before the dust had settled, CVRD chair Ian Morrison, and Lake Cowichan council were on board, WorkSafe BC was ready to take part, long-time loggers’ safety advocate Lori Iannidinardo said she’d be there…

A husband and father of six has been identified as the man who died in a logging accident on Northern Vancouver Island over the weekend. Dylan Montjoy, a 46-year-old Quesnel man, died Sunday while working near Nahwitti River near the remote village of Holberg, about 50 kilometres west of Port Hardy. …Madison Montjoy said it was a “freak accident” that took the life of her father, who had been working for Port McNeill-based Lemare Lake Logging for 10 years and in the woods as a faller since he was 14 years old. …The union said a representative from its emergency-response team will be in contact with the family to offer support. Anyone affected by the death will be able to access help and counselling through the Employee Family Assistance Program, it said. WorkSafe B.C. and the B.C. Coroners Service are investigating. Neither agency has released details on the cause of death.

The union representing four workers who died in two British Columbia sawmill explosions in 2012 says it hopes a new review of worker safety ordered by the provincial government will lead to overdue justice for survivors and families of the victims. Steve Hunt, district director for the United Steelworkers union, said previous inquiries into the explosions at Babine Forest Products in Burns Lake and Lakeland Mills in Prince George raised more questions than answers, and he hopes the new review prevents similar disasters from happening in the future.  …But Hunt said he has been advocating for a further review and alleges WorkSafeBC, also known as the Workers’ Compensation Board, mishandled its part of the investigation in a way that prevented criminal charges from being laid in either case. …He accused WorkSafeBC of acting in the interests of industry instead of the workers it is supposed to represent

KELOWNA – It’s been more than two years since the boom boat Ivor Lundin was captaining off the shores of Okanagan Lake sank, prompting Tolko Industries to adopt new protocols addressing employee sobriety and invest in better safety equipment. Changes to the logging company’s safety regime were highlighted this week in a WorkSafeB.C. report, detailing the investigation into the Jan. 30, 2017 incident. …Tolko did not have “a firm policy regarding the assessment of the sobriety of workers at the start of the shift.” …”Since this incident, they’ve implemented a system for all workers to check in with a supervisor for assessment at the start of the shift and a company-wide training program to assist supervisors in the detection of substance abuse in the work place.”