Wind whips bits of sky-high Basilica railing and cross downward
It may have been divine intervention that no one was hurt when parts of the railing and a cross high up on the Basilica of St. John the Baptist came hurtling down to the ground in last week's windstorm.
"What came down here was a couple of small pieces, but they could certainly do damage — they could probably kill somebody from 120 feet," said Brian Penney, the maintenance supervisor for the Basilica, a hallmark on the St. John's skyline.
"These cast iron things, they shatter … nobody got hurt."
Penney said the church was close to issuing a tender to replace the already-loose railing, "but this windstorm last Wednesday sped it up a little bit."
"One of the crosses is actually going to be replaced, the railing on both of them are going to be replaced and some roof work," he told CBC Radio's On The Go.
"But right now the emergency thing is trying to get the railing down before any more damage."
The front doors of the church were off limits to parishioners and concert-goers this past weekend, but Penney said work is underway to fix that by later this week.
"Once the railing is down, that's the whole idea right now, is to make it safe to access for our parishioners and general public. And to be able to open up the front of the church again," he said.
It will be at least the spring until the new railing and new cross are installed on the towers.
With files from On The Go
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