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NANAIMO, B.C. – Three companies are facing fines after a young worker was killed when a double-door frame fell on them during their first day on the job.

According to a WorkSafeBC report, on Sept. 25, 2024, the worker was alone installing heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) lines on the third-floor deck of a mixed-used commercial and residential building that was under construction. Two double-door frames with side windows were leaning against the building. One of the door frames fell onto the worker, causing fatal injuries. It was the worker’s first day at this jobsite, and the incident was not witnessed.

The WorkSafeBC report notes the first aid attendant was supposed to have given the worker site safety orientation, along with two others, before work began that day. However, the attendant “was instead given other tasks to complete, which took the first aid attendant off site. The first aid attendant was unable to conduct the site safety orientation with the Muchalat workers and planned to conduct it after lunch.”

Shortly after lunch, the first aid attendant went looking for the worker to conduct the orientation.

“The first aid attendant spoke with the supervisor on the second floor, and they called the worker’s cellphone, but there was no answer,” the report states. “The first aid attendant went to the third floor and found the worker lying on the deck with one of the door frames on him.”

Muchalat Projects Ltd., the firm installing HVAC at the site, was fined $21,880.81, for failing to provide its workers with the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety, a high-risk violation.��

R. W. (Bob) Wall Ltd. was fined $9,253.09.

“As prime contractor of a multiple-employer workplace, the firm failed to do everything reasonable to establish and maintain a system to ensure regulatory compliance. This was a high-risk violation,” WorkSafeBC explains.

Chris M Mitchell/Ferguson Exteriors as the company installing the double-door frames and was fined $2,500.
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WorkSafeBC found it failed to ensure material was placed, stacked, or stored in a stable and secure manner, a high-risk violation.��

All the fines were imposed Nov. 20, 2025.

WorkSafeBC also stated, “It is important to understand that an administrative penalty does not, and cannot, reflect the tragic��loss of life��that occurred in this workplace incident.”

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 legislation and regulation, and to keep their workplaces safe, noted WorkSafeBC.

“The amount of a penalty is based on the size of the employer’s payroll, the nature of the violation, and the employer’s history of violations.”