Ontario Construction News staff writer
Developers of a five-storey condo in the Niagara community of Welland are working with municipal and provincial officials to investigate two structural collapses at a condo construction site in February.
The first collapse occurred on February 18, followed by a second incident on Feb. 26, municipal building officials reported.
Correction:ย Ontario Construction News originally incorrectly reported that the building collapse was caused by a fire. “No fire occurred at this site,” a Welland official reported to Ontario Construction News today. “The cause for the structural failure is ongoing and has yet to be determined. We can confirm, however, that at no time was there a fire on this site.”
Welland Fire and Emergency Services were dispatched to the scene at after the initial collapse at the 350 Prince Charles Dr. building and reported no injuries. However, additional components of the building endured structural failure. The additional failure occurred on the south side of the building, the same side of the building as the initial event.
Representatives of Evertrust Development were on the 350 Prince Charles Dr.ย S. site early the next day (Sunday, Feb. 19) with Wellandโs mayor, representatives from the Ministry of Labour and other officials to begin the investigation.
No one was injured. Evertrust says in a statement that the developer looks forward โto taking all necessary protocols to rectifying the current situation as they look forward to completing the sold-out 226 unit project.โ
After the initial collapse, the city issued an Order to Remedy an Unsafe Building under Section 15.9 of the Building Code Act.
โAt this time, the extent of the damage appears to be concentrated in the south position of the building involving the four floor slabs supported on the east exterior and interior load-bearing walls,โ Jack Tosta, Wellandโs chief building official said in a statement.
โThe cause of the damage is unknown as the building is still under construction with work taking place as recently as last Friday afternoon (Feb. 17),โ Tosta said.
Welland Mayor Frank Campion said he has been on top of the situation with Evertrust Developmentโs president Ted Zhou since word was received of the incident.
โI understand there was some structural damage on the building last night and I talked with Dr. Zhou early this morning,โ the mayor said in the Feb. 18 statement. The city and developer have opened the doors of communication and โhis organization is doing everything that is appropriate for this type of situation and (is) being every responsible to make sure all the rules are being followed.
โOur staff is also here to help. We have our Chief Building Official on site now and will continue working with the folks here already to make sure everything is under control.โ
After the second collapse, Tosta said: โThe Ministry of Labour has control of the site and has prohibited anyone from accessing the building.
โThe ministry has jurisdiction to conduct an investigation to determine if the condition of the building is safe to allow access for further evaluation of the structural engineering components.โ
The cordoned-off area with security fencing is expanding out of an abundance of caution. The trail along the canal in the areas remains closed until further notice.