These 2 Near-Death Accidents Happened On The Set Of 'The Office'

“The Office” was a beloved show from the early 2000s, and it saw a fandom resurgence during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic.

Since the show ended, some cast members have created ‘Office’-themed content such as podcasts.

Jenna Fischer, who played Pam Beasley, and Angela Kinsey, who played Angela Martin on the show, famously created the “Office Ladies” podcast.

The podcast is hosted by both Jenna and Angela, and the real-life co-workers break down an episode of the office each week. In addition, the actors give exclusive behind-the-scene stories that only two people who were there, can tell you.

Due to the podcast’s great success, Jenna and Angela decided to write a book about their experience on “The Office.”

Their new book titled, “The Office BFFs: Tales of ‘The Office’ from Two Best Friends Who Were There,” dives into all the behind-the-scenes drama that unfolded while filming.

Mashable obtained excerpts from the book which detail two near-death experiences that occurred while filming one episode.

The episode titled “Work Bus” was episode four in season nine. It was directed by “Breaking Bad” star, Bryan Cranston.

In case you haven’t seen it, the employees of Dunder Mifflin are forced to work outside of the office and in a movie shuttle bus for the day.

Fischer explains in the book that the “small airport shuttle” was crammed with 14 actors, four crew members along with a plethora of office furniture.

There were several desks, chairs, lamps, printers, a water cooler, a microwave, a TV and a coffeemaker crammed into the bus.

“What could go wrong? Who could have predicted that Ellie Kemper would pee her pants, or that the entire cast would almost be killed… twice?” Fischer wrote.

Kinsey added how the elements of nature took a major toll on all of the actors.

“It was a very hot day and whenever we started filming, the air conditioning on the bus had to be turned off because it was too noisy. We were basically in a moving hot tin can with no air,” she wrote. “I thought Brian [Baumgartner] and Creed [Bratton] were going to melt. Oscar [Nunez] looked dead inside. Plus, it was a very curvy road. Jenna was getting a little carsick even though she had a forward-facing chair.”

Kinsey added, “At that point, the heat and the nausea seemed like our worst obstacle.

But she was soooo wrong.

Later in the episode, Dwight Schrute, played by Rainn Wilson, takes control of the wheel and drives like a maniac because he’s Dwight.

Unfortunately, Wilson’s maniacal driving didn’t elicit authentic enough reactions, so a stunt driver was called in as reinforcement.

“There were no stunt actors, however. We stayed on and were told to keep doing what we’d been doing. And off we went,” Fischer ensured in the book.

Kinsey added, “We were all bouncing down the road, blissfully unaware of what was about to happen. We were saying our lines and everything was going smoothly when all of a sudden, we heard the assistant director yell, ‘Swerve!'”

The swerve left the cast, crew and set furniture turned upside down and in shambles.

Kinsey explained the scene, “We were all smushed up against the side of the bus. Ellie’s chair crashed into Jake [Lacy]’s. Jake’s crashed into mine, and I was shoved against the glass window. Papers were everywhere. I caught our desk lamp as it slid into my lap. A few people fell on the bus floor, and we could barely see them because so many things had fallen on top of them.”

Luckily, the production crew was able to get a portable AC unit hooked up to the sunroof of the shuttle.

According to Fischer and Kinsey, after the AC unit was rigged up a funny smell began to take over the bus.

A camera operator nearly fainted and many cast members complained of the stench.

“The portable air-conditioning unit’s INTAKE hose was right next to the EXHAUST pipe on the bus. So that hose was sucking in exhaust and blowing it straight into the sunroof of the bus. We were all being slowly poisoned. Or not so slowly, actually,” Fischer wrote.

Fortunately, everyone on set for that particular scene lived to tell the tale and were able to round out the ninth and final season of “The Office.”