WINDSOR, ONT. – Two Windsor, Ont.-based construction companies have been fined after two workers were injured when a section of an unbraced masonry block wall collapsed on a worksite.
Fortis Construction Group Inc., a general contracting company, was fined $85,000 by Justice of the Peace Susan Hoffman on Nov. 6, 2023 and Vito Masonry Ltd., a masonry and bricklaying contractor, was fined $45,000 by Justice of the Peace Susan Whelan on May 10.
The offence occurred Nov. 11, 2021 at Eastview Horizon Elementary School, 3070 Stillmeadow Road in Windsor.
The court found Fortis Construction Group Inc. failed as a constructor to ensure that the wall was adequately braced as required by section 31(1)(b) of Regulation 213/91, a violation of section 23(1)(b) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Vito Masonry Ltd. failed, as an employer, to ensure that the wall was adequately braced as required by section 31(1)(b) of Regulation 213/91, a violation of section 25(1)(b) of the Act.
In November 2021, Fortis was the constructor of a new school in Windsor. Fortis had hired Vito to complete masonry work, including building block walls.
On Nov. 9, a freestanding interior masonry block wall, 54 feet long and 13.5 feet tall, was completed but was not braced by either Fortis or Vito workers.
On Nov. 11, workers from both companies were on the second floor of the building. In the early afternoon the weather changed and wind speed reached over 32 km/h. During that time, a section of the unbraced masonry block wall collapsed, injuring two workers.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development found that the masonry block wall was inadequately braced.
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