Alberta worker injured in ceiling collapse at stadium

EDMONTON (Canadian OH&S News)

An Alberta worker was injured after a ceiling collapsed on him as he was getting ready to head home for the day.

On Wednesday, May 9, Augusto Pavia was removing tiles from the ceiling of a steam room in the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton when the concrete ceiling above the area he was working in came down, trapping him under the rubble, says Lisa Glover, public affairs officer with the occupational health and safety division of Alberta Human Services. The fire department was called to extricate the worker, she says.

The 12 foot by 12 foot steam room is part of the Edmonton Eskimos’ dressing room.

The 42-year-old and another worker were cleaning up the area before leaving when the collapse happened, confirms Noe Quinoveva, owner of Edmonton-based Safeguard Construction, who had been subcontracted by Ideal Tile to do the work.

Pavia was pinned under the rubble for more than an hour as firefighters used special tools and equipment to give him enough space to squeeze out of the way, a news release from the city states, giving firefighters enough room to cut a hole through the debris that would allow the worker to escape.

Glover says he was taken to Royal Alexandra Hospital, and a stop-work order was issued for the area. Pavia was conscious and able to speak with emergency responders, says the press release from the city.

The worker suffered some bruising and soreness, says Quinoveva, adding Pavia had been working for Safeguard since March.

“We are taking this matter seriously. The area was not open to the public at the time of the incident and will remain closed until we complete a full investigation into what occurred,” Joe Kabarchuk, branch manager for Edmonton Building and Landscape Services, says in a statement.

The City of Edmonton refused to comment further on the issue.

The occupational health and safety division of Alberta Human Services is currently investigating the incident and looking to determine if the collapse was connected to the work being done, Glover says.

The 60,000 seat stadium was first opened in 1978. Media reports note that stadium director Evelyn Ehrman said the locker room was renovated in 2010, but the steam room was not part of the renovation and was about seven years old.