It’s been 12 years since Trish Penny’s brother, Luke, died in a trench collapse while he was at work in Whitby, Ontario.
It was May 19, 2010, when Luke was working on a detached garage. A concrete wall collapsed and collapsed on top of him, killing him almost instantly.
Penny said it was her brother’s first day working on the project. He had dug a trench around the perimeter of one side of the building and it was his job to make sure the area was prepared and cleaned for the application of a weatherproof membrane.
More than a decade later, she relives the pain of families who must mourn the loss of their loved ones after saying goodbye to them in the morning when they go to work, not knowing that it will be their last time.
“Your immediate thought is, ‘That’s awful, ‘How could this happen?'” and then you’re transported back to that day and you remember when the police knocked on the door and came into your house to tell you that someone died because he went to work that day.”
On Monday, two workers died after an excavation collapsed on them at a job site in Ajax, Ontario. Two others were injured in the collapse, which is now the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Ontario Ministry of Labour. But some, including Penny, say such incidents are entirely preventable.
“It’s absolutely devastating and preventable,” Penny told CBC Toronto.
Flowers left at the construction site in Ajax, Ont., where the bodies of two men were recovered Tuesday after an excavation collapsed and trapped the two workers a day earlier. (Paul Smith/CBC)
How can excavation accidents be prevented?
From Monday night into Tuesday morning, firefighters and crews used heavy digging equipment, working through the night to try to extricate the trapped men, who worked for Direct Underground Inc. and the construction company Grascan Construction Ltd. Their bodies were recovered at 2:30 am
A trench refers to a hole left in the ground as a result of the removal of material, while a trench is an excavation where the depth exceeds the width.
While it’s not known exactly what happened at the Ajax site that led to the deaths of the two workers, there are a number of measures in place to protect against collapses, says Enzo Garitano, CEO and president of the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association ( IHSA). These measures include a slope, trench boxes and supports, which are designed to protect workers from the hazards of falling when trenches are used.
Trench diagram courtesy of the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association. The agency says many factors can affect the stability of a trench on a construction site, but there are a number of preventative measures to prevent workplace fatalities. (Infrastructure Health and Safety Association Guide)
The IHSA offers training to employers in the construction, transportation and power sectors on safety and compliance standards.
“In this case here, we really don’t know what happened at this point. Was there a collapse and they were outside[of] trench or were they in the trench?” Garitano said.
An unstable trench can collapse, killing or injuring workers by suffocation or crushing when a worker is buried by falling soil, according to a news release on the IHSA website.
A trench box, which is normally used to reinforce the walls of a dug trench, was seen at the site on Tuesday, but it is unclear if it was in use at the time.
“Rules are there for a reason”: Garitano
Since 2016, there have been three deaths involving excavation collapses at work sites in the province, according to Garitano. The ministry could not confirm the figure in time for publication.
Garitano said the industry needs to act when deaths like this happen and can be prevented.
“When we think about rules and regulations, they are based on injuries, illnesses and deaths. We can’t forget that the rules are there for a reason,” Garitano told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning.
“They are there to protect the workers, to protect the people to go home every day. And that’s the thing to remember when we apply these practices every day: use these practices, stick to them. ”
A trench box, normally used to strengthen the walls of a dug trench, seen on scene in Ajax on Tuesday. (Paul Smith/CBC)
Anu Dhar, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Labour, said health and safety inspectors will interview co-workers, supervisors, employers and anyone else the inspector believes may have relevant information or may have witnessed the incident.
“The ministry’s investigation includes, but is not limited to, an examination of the scene of the accident, any equipment involved, workplace policies and procedures, worker training history and records,” Dhar said in a statement to CBC Toronto.
The ministry has strict requirements prohibiting workers from entering any trenches or trenches unless they are met, Dhar said.
“This includes ensuring that all services are located and marked prior to excavation, the walls of the trench are either properly sloped in accordance with regulations or adequate engineering support systems are in place … to prevent the trench from collapsing or the trench collapsing on a worker” , the announcement said.
“Barriers are available to prevent the worker from inadvertently walking or falling into a trench or trench, adjacent structures are protected so that the trench or trench does not affect their stability, and that the stability or walls of the trench or trench are not affected by the placement of materials or equipment.”
LISTEN | An expert highlights the dangers of excavations and measures to prevent accidents:
Metro Morning8:51 After two people die in trench collapse, group says it’s a reminder of the dangers construction workers face
Enzo Garitano is the President and CEO of the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association. The group works with the Department of Labor on health and safety training and consults with the construction, transport and utilities sectors.
As for Penny, she says she will continue to call for workplace safety in both her personal life and work.
After being introduced to Threads of Life – a charity dedicated to supporting families following a workplace death, life-threatening injury or occupational disease – Penny and her family began sharing their story to raise awareness of the importance of health and safety in the workplace help prevent incidents like these.
She said the incident threw her into the world of occupational health and safety, where she works as a health and safety specialist.
Construction workers should be made aware of the hazards of the work they are involved in and raise concerns with supervisors, if any, she says.
“You want to know what you’re getting into and what’s being done to protect you,” Penny said.
“And if something’s wrong or something doesn’t feel right, you’re protected by law to have those conversations.”
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