In 2010 I knew my career as a mason was coming to an end due to heavy work, and I was getting older.  I consulted an employment

specialist and she put the idea into my head of becoming a Construction Safety Officer, CSO for short. She said I had a lot of Knowledge and Safety Experience  that could be passed down to the younger generation. I was in my early 40s and it looks like I was going back to school and taking the required Safety Courses.  

A couple of weeks at The British Columbia Institute of Technology, a few more at The University of the Fraser Valley with some continuing education courses and upgrades along the way. My very first job was at Cenovus

Energy at the Cold Lake in Alberta. 

   Next, I was being asked if I could run the night shifts Safety Program at Stave Lake Dam in Mission BC. They were replacing the old spillway

gate doors and since I was local to the area and my vast masonry experience  particularly in Silica would be able to serve BC Hydro in a very favorable way. In order to have the night shift on my own without any OH&S supervision or help with First Aid, I had to perform a mock rescue of an injured worker 5 stories down in the spillway. The time limit was 20 minutes from the sound of the horn till I had to have my patient up and out of the spillway and loaded into the EVT we had

on site. I was to be in full command of the operation.  Five stories of stairs to negotiate, examination of my patient, make the calls, give the commands, a full package of my patient and a DEP Box ride to the top, all while the heads of the Prime Contractor as well as a half dozen BC Hydro Managers stood by and monitored my actions and digitally recorded the mock rescue. 20 minutes max was allowed, I had my patient loaded in 17 minutes.