TV crew suffers from heat exhaustion on Langley set, WorkSafe called in
Editor’s Note: WorkSafe incorrectly identified the business as 16 Lighthouse Road Productions and the series as Cedar Cove. This article has been corrected to reflect that company and series was not involved.
WorkSafe BC has been called in after several crew members on the set of a TV production in the Fraser Valley became ill during the recent heat.
It happened on set of a tv production in the Langley Township on Thursday.
According to the report from WorkSafe BC, the inspector found several workers were exposed to “thermal conditions” that led to varying degrees of heat stress, including heat exhaustion, which could be very dangerous.
“The ambient temperature was 33 degrees when I arrived at the workplace at approximately 17:00 hours,” the report reads, adding that several workers were treated on site and none appeared to suffer long-term impacts.
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The production company was found in contravention of the Workers Compensation Act Section 69(1) and told it must make sure exposure control plans are completed and implemented, including properly documenting first aid records.
The report says crew members were on site for more than 12-hour shifts.
A fatal incident at another film set
It comes during a difficult week for BC’s film sector, which has been grieving the loss of a crew member who died following a medical event at a Burnaby set.
According to the BC chapter of the Director’s Guild of Canada (DGC BC) the person died on August 18, but their death was unrelated to the heat.
Few details have been provided about the crew member’s identity, but in a statement shared with other members of the guild, it appears the person died of natural causes.
“Our hearts go out to the family of the deceased as well as to their colleagues on set. The DGC BC has sent trauma counsellors to the production to assist those who have been impacted,” Executive Director Kendrie Upton said.