Basement shoot with a generator, wet floor and an asthmatic intern
A 12-person crew is shooting a web series pilot in the basement of a rented house in Faridabad in June. The basement has one narrow staircase, no windows, and a diesel generator running in an adjoining covered shaft because the power supply trips when the 2 kW light kit is switched on. Three extension cables cross the walking path to the monitor table; one is taped with paper tape that has peeled. The floor near the washroom is wet from a leaking pipe. A 17-year-old production intern has asthma and has started coughing. The shoot is one day behind and the producer says, 'We finish tonight, we fix tomorrow.' The unit has a 5 kg ABC extinguisher in the van, not in the basement; drinking water is in a 20-litre can near the generator. There is no first-aid box. The camera operator has a mild burn from a hot fresnel.
1. Identify the hazards in this setup and rank them by level of risk. Explain the reasoning behind your ranking rather than just naming the hazards.
Read the worked answer
Rank by severity × likelihood, not by how visible the hazard is.
- Generator exhaust in a covered shaft - highest risk. Diesel exhaust contains carbon monoxide, which is invisible and can overcome a person in a confined basement. The shaft is covered, ventilation is poor, and people are working a long shift. This can kill before anyone notices symptoms.
- Wet floor plus damaged cable insulation - very high. Water near a leaking pipe and cables taped with peeled paper tape create a shock path. The two-pin extension board mentioned in the scenario also suggests no reliable earth. A shock in a wet basement is more likely to be severe.
- Single narrow staircase and cables across the walking path - high. The crew has one escape route. A trip during an emergency, or a blocked staircase, turns a small fire into a crush or fall injury.
- No extinguisher or first-aid box on location - high consequence, lower immediate likelihood. If a fresnel or cable ignites, the crew must run to a van while the fire grows. The burned operator already shows that hot lamps are a live risk.
- Drinking water stored near the generator and no hygiene controls - moderate. Fuel contamination and poor handwashing can cause illness across the crew.
- Asthmatic intern coughing - a symptom that raises the risk of every other hazard. She is more vulnerable to exhaust and dust and must not be treated as 'just coughing'.
The ranking is not a claim that only the top item matters. It tells the crew what to stop first.
2. State the immediate actions you would take as the safety-responsible crew member before any further shooting. Explain which actions are low-cost and which require escalation to the producer, landlord or an electrician.
Read the worked answer
Before the next take: call a short stop-work huddle and say clearly that shooting is paused until the top three hazards are controlled.
Low-cost actions the crew can do now
- Move the drinking water away from the generator and wash hands before handling food.
- Mop the wet floor, mark it, and keep people off that patch; ask the landlord to stop the leak.
- Re-route cables away from the walking path or cover them with a proper cable ramp or heavy gaffer tape; remove the peeled paper tape.
- Bring the ABC extinguisher and a first-aid box from the van into the basement and check the extinguisher gauge.
- Ventilate: open the shaft cover, run a fan to move air, and keep the basement door open.
- Check the intern: move her to fresh air, ask about her inhaler, and do not send her back into the exhaust zone.
- Treat the operator's burn with cool running water and a clean dressing; record it.
Actions requiring escalation
- The generator must be moved outside or its exhaust ducted safely; this needs the producer and possibly the landlord's permission. If that cannot be done immediately, the generator must be shut down.
- The two-pin socket and extension board need an electrician to check earthing and load. A 2 kW light kit on an unsafe board is not a 'fix it tomorrow' item.
- The producer must decide whether to shorten the day. Safety controls are not a negotiation about overtime.
Record each action, time and person responsible in a simple safety log.
3. The producer insists on finishing the shoot. Explain how you would communicate your refusal to continue in a way that is professional and legally defensible, and what you would document.
Read the worked answer
Speak to the producer privately first, then repeat the position in front of the crew so there is no ambiguity. Use facts, not emotion: 'The generator exhaust is in a covered shaft with no ventilation. The intern is already coughing. We have one staircase and no extinguisher downstairs. I am not taking the crew back in until the generator is moved or shut down and the wet floor is controlled.'
Frame it as duty of care, not personal fear. The producer controls the location and the schedule; the crew cannot consent to an unseen carbon-monoxide risk. Offer a workable alternative: move the shoot to the ground floor, shoot only the scenes that do not need the basement, or shut the generator and use a battery/inverter for monitors while the mains problem is fixed. That shows you are solving the production problem, not only refusing.
If the producer still insists, escalate to the line producer or the owner of the rented house, and state that you are recording the refusal. Document:
- date, time and location;
- hazards observed, with photos of the generator shaft, wet floor, taped cable and missing extinguisher;
- names of people present and the producer's instruction;
- the control you requested and the response;
- any symptoms or injuries, including the intern's cough and the operator's burn.
Send a short written message summarising the conversation. If the danger is imminent, the crew should leave the basement. A refusal to work in an immediately dangerous environment is defensible; a silent 'yes' followed by an injury is not.