Fire alarm at Ontario Amazon plant sent workers into -20 C cold, then one died

financialpost.com:

An Amazon worker died at its London-area mega-plant shortly after the online giant sent staff outside for about 20 minutes in wind-chill temperatures of -20 C due to a fire alarm.

Amazon officials – confirming the account to The Free Press by an on-site witness – say the worker collapsed about an hour after going back inside its large fulfillment centre south of London. Employees had been sent outside from about 11:10 p.m. to 11:27 p.m. Sunday in snowy, dangerously cold conditions.

“There’s nothing more important than our employees’ health and safety, which is why we ensured the site was evacuated quickly and provided warm-weather kits to help keep employees warm and comfortable,” said Maureen Lynch Vogel, an Amazon spokesperson.

“The site was cleared for re-entry about 16 minutes after the alarm sounded, and employees were encouraged to warm up in the break room before returning to their work stations.”

Ontario’s Labour Ministry is now investigating, Lynch Vogel said. The ministry investigates all workplace deaths. The area’s fire chief, Jeff McArthur of the Southwold Fire Department, confirmed the duration of the fire call before workers could go back in.  

The worker collapsed near a water cooler and their work station about an hour after returning to work following the evacuation, Lynch Vogel said.

“We’re grieving the loss of our colleague, and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones. We’re providing support to anyone at the site who may need it, including counselling services, and encouraging employees to use resources available to them via our employee assistance program,” Lynch Vogel said.

“We won’t speculate on the cause of death, but the incident itself does not appear to be work-related.”

One stunned