A WorkSafeBC report on the death of a BC Wildfire Service member has identified multiple violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Devyn Gale, 19, was killed on July 13, 2023, when a burning cedar tree collapsed on her near Revelstoke.
The partially redacted report found that two other firefighters had raised concerns about the burning cedar before the incident.
However, despite these concerns being raised, the tree was not assessed and workers were only told to use a “heads-up” approach and stay away if they felt uncomfortable.
“Shortly after the lunchtime briefing, at approximately 13:30, Firefighter 1 (Gale) was bucking a downed tree (cutting it into logs) using a chainsaw, working progressively toward the burning cedar. When Firefighter 1 was approximately 6 to 9 metres from the base of the burning cedar, it fell down,” the report states.
Another firefighter working nearby did not see the tree fall but heard a “loud cracking noise,” the report reads.
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The firefighters began radioing in to check on each other and when there was no response from Gale, another firefighter worked his way over to where she was last seen.
First aid efforts were immediately administered and a medevac was called but Gale did not survive her injuries.
The report found that there is no evidence that a dangerous tree assessment had been completed on the burning cedar at the site before the workers began their work.
WorkSafeBC says “this was an ineffective and inadequate means of managing that hazard” that does not align with safety procedures.
The report also identified gaps in the supervision of dangerous tree assessments and the training of young employees.
In her obituary, Gale was described as someone who brought joy to her family.
“Her nurturing, kind and sincere nature was so quick to win over the hearts of the many people she was connected to as well as the patients she cared for in her short time as a nursing student,” her obituary states.
Gale was a third-year nursing student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan and she had a deep passion for helping those in need.
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