Quebec’s workers’ compensation board warns that temperature swings in recent days have made rooftops icy or snowy.
Taking the snow off your roof is extremely risky at this time of year, it warned.
Every winter, the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) deals with a number of falls from heights, workers buried in snow, heart ailments and other injuries caused by work on roofs, it said in a statement.
It urged homeowners, employers, managers and workers to plan any work involving roofs carefully.
To remove snow from roofs safely, try to do it from the ground rather than climbing on the roof, if at all possible.
If you do have to go up on the roof, use a safety harness and other protective gear.
Cordon off the area where the snow from the roof will be dumped so no one on the ground gets hurt.
