30.07.2026

Boom lift electrocution

A man died in the small town of West Grey, Ontario, Canada, on Tuesday after the platform of the boom lift he was working from came into contact with an overhead power line.

The Ministry of Labour is investigating the incident, which took place in the Durham area of West Grey, which is northwest of Toronto.
The West Grey police said: “A man was electrocuted when a boom lift came into contact with a Hydro wire. As a result, power was knocked out for much of West Grey for a few hours but has since been restored.”

The police have said that they are unable to disclose any more information as the matter is under ministry investigation.

A statement from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development said: “The ministry was notified of a workplace fatality in Durham on Tuesday 28th July at around noon. Ministry inspectors have attended the scene. As the investigation is ongoing, no further details are available at this time."

Vertikal Comment

This has to be at least the 12th electrocution from a platform that we have covered so far this year. It has involved all types of lifts, including truck mounts, booms, scissors and spider lifts etc. As we have said before, it is about time manufacturers and employers etc.. took it more seriously.

IPAF's FREE guidance publications

IPAF, the International Powered Access Federation, publish some good guidance on this subject in most of the major languages. It is free to download at www.ipaf.org/en-gb/resource-library/safe-use-mewps-vicinity-power-lines for the English version, or go to the home page for other languages.