A recent news item in SK outlines the death of a 54-yr-old man after falling off a roof he was working on. He was not using fall protection, there were no railings, and no other safety precautions taken. What a waste, and what a sad time for his family and friends.
The literary definition of ‘Tragic’ is not just something really, really sad, it is the inexorable progress towards a unhappy end that could be stopped, but the characters do not have the foresight to choose a more auspicious destiny.
I will write here the same thing I tell my Occupational Health students:
- Even falling from 2m can break your spine or cause a fatal head injury
- Fall arrest harness, railings, and hole covers required whenever there is a risk of falling >2m
- If you see someone working at a height without fall protection, you can make an anonymous call to Sask OH&S: 1.800.567.7233
- Contact numbers for BC are found here
Don’t feel guilty or ‘naggy’ about calling. You might be saving someone’s life, and saving their family from a tremendous hardship. You can be the force that takes them off their ‘tragic’ path towards an untimely end.
…and I promise you will feel much better than if you had not called and someone fell.