Two pedestrians suffer minor injuries after scaffolding falls from high-rise tower
A scaffolding collapse in downtown Toronto that injured two pedestrians is highlighting the need for more stringent regulations governing who can build a scaffold, according to one safety expert.
“First concern that I always have whenever there's a scaffolding incident, is how was the scaffold built,” explains Jason Gordon, director of operations and event sector lead with Cobalt Safety.
Gordon says who built the scaffold matters a lot. “Was it properly built? And that can come down to who built it. Was their proper training, was the scaffold inspected after it was built?”
The scaffolding fell off a high-rise condo tower under construction near Spadina Avenue and Bremner Boulevard around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. It’s not far from the Rogers Centre where the Toronto Blue Jays were getting ready for the home opener.
Two people suffered minor injuries, and as you can see from the video obtained by the Toronto Star, the incident could have been much worse. No workers were hurt. The falling debris took out a street light.
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The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development sent two inspectors to the scene and it has issued a total five requirements.
Four requirements were issued to the constructor, Reliance Construction Group. One requirement was issued to the employer, Hardwall Construction (2005) Ltd.
Gordon says the ministry is likely looking to obtain engineering documents, reports, and plans on how the companies hope to move forward.
“Is there any inspection reports of it by the engineer prior to its use? What were the engineering practices used and what was the engineering design for it? That's probably what the ministry is looking at with those requirement orders.”
New fear unlocked: I just saw a huge block of construction material falling from the sky on Spadina and Bremner.
— Tassio 🇧🇷 🇨🇦 (@tassiokc) April 11, 2023
I hope nobody got hurt. #Toronto pic.twitter.com/oFj4ogtNeb
Given the height at which the scaffold was being used, Gordon thinks it is likely it was being supported by a cantilever system, which would require engineering.
Gordon is also on the board of directors for the Event Safety Alliance of Canada, an organization that has been advocating for a scaffolding certification.
In Ontario, workers who build a scaffold have to be competent, but Gordon says there’s no definition of what constitutes a competent worker.
“I could literally take four workers that I deemed to be competent workers as labourers, and have those four workers build me a scaffold. There's no requirement for those workers to be trained specifically on how to build a scaffold.”
Other jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, require workers to go through rigorous training and obtain a certification before they are legally qualified to build a scaffold. Gordon says accidents like the one in Toronto on Tuesday should serve as motivation for Ontario to impose similar regulations.
“There is stuff happening in the background currently to help address that gap. But unfortunately, it doesn't get very aggressive about addressing those gaps, until we have enough evidence to back it up. And when we start to see incidents, then we start to get reaction.”
Gordon hopes it won’t take a fatal incident to push government to implement a scaffolding certification.
