SAFETY
Eric Giguere nearly died on the job when a trench caved in and
buried him alive. It’s an experience many would try to forget.
Instead, Giguere shares his story with thousands of workers
every year, hoping to save just one from a similar fate.
By Lisa Gordon
When Eric Giguere tells his
story, he wears an 18-yearold
pair of work boots.
They’re scuffed, dirty and worn – but to him,
they’re an important reminder to never cut corners
when it comes to safety on the job.
Giguere was wearing those same boots on Oct.
4, 2002, when he was buried alive while working
in a six-and-a-half-foot deep trench. Just 27
years old at the time, he’d been a union labourer
in Geneva, N.Y., for five years. This was his first
trenching job.
“I had no training and I was that typical bulletproof
kid. I thought nothing would ever happen
to me,” said Giguere. “I’m the guy who was always
willing to go and get that job done no matter what.
We were supposed to wear steel-toed boots and
mine weren’t – it shows you how I thought.”
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