Falling wrench sparks concerns about safety of condo construction next to school
Some parents who live in midtown Toronto are concerned after a wrench from a condo construction site next to their children's school fell 23 storeys and landed in the school yard.
"A kid could have been hurt seriously, or killed, as well as staff," said Ian Cooper, who has two children at John Fisher Public School, located on Erskine Avenue, just a few blocks north of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue East.
It's the sum of all fears for John Fisher parents, who protested against the 35-storey tower project when it was proposed in 2017 over concerns about dust, noise and traffic.
Ultimately, it was decided the school could remain open while the tower went up — but Cooper says it's clear that safety protocols put in place aren't air tight.
"These types of accidents we thought were inevitable a couple of years ago, and we're seeing, despite the assurances, that they are happening," Cooper said.
A report from the developer, KG Group, lays out what happened last Wednesday, explaining that a worker was on his way up a ladder from the 22nd floor when he lost control of a bungee cord holding a wrench, causing it to go flying.
The report says the root cause of the incident was the worker's failure to keep "3-point contact" with the ladder while climbing with a tool in his hand.
Cooper told CBC Toronto it was luck that no child was hit when the wrench fell.
New safety measures
In the days since the incident, KG Group says it has rolled out several new safety measures, including an expanded tool tethering policy, increased inspections, and newly installed double-height barriers on floors where work is taking place.
In a statement, KG Group spokesperson Danny Roth called the incident an "isolated failure" in the project's construction protocols.
"This isolated incident was thoroughly reviewed and we have proactively taken enhanced safety measures to ensure this incident is not repeated," Roth wrote.
The Toronto District School Board is also taking new safety steps, opting to cordon off the section of playground closest to the project.
The board wrote in a letter to parents on Monday that a meeting between stakeholders — including the developer and the city — was being set up for either this week or next week.
Concerns extend to once condos are occupied
It's not the first time the site has sparked worries about safety.
In Nov., 2017, a parent posted a Youtube video showing unsupervised access to the site through an open gate, prompting Coun. Jaye Robinson and Mayor John Tory to express their concerns.
Tory had previously pledged to protect students at John Fisher, promising before construction started that the development would be held "to the very highest standards when it comes to the health and safety of the children."
Meanwhile, Cooper's concerns extend through the construction period to after the first tenants move in.
"You're going to have a whole bunch of people with balconies, with no setback, overlooking a school, and things fly off. And you're going to have a whole bunch of people who want to go to the neighbourhood schools, which are already overcrowded," he said.
For now, he would like to see construction shift to hours when the children are not in class, and in the longer term, for the developer to consider leaving balconies off of the side of the condo tower that faces the school to avoid more objects landing in the yard.
