March 19, 2010

TORONTO POLICE SERVICES

The poorly lit tunnel where the workers died was 35 feet underground and was six feet in diameter with a 36-inch watermain running through it.

Hogg’s Hollow tragedy | 50 Years Later

Despite safety improvements, underground dangers still exist

Five workers perished in tunnel disaster on March 17, 1960

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

The tunneling circumstances that resulted in the Hogg’s Hollow tragedy would be hard to replicate today, but dangers still exist despite safety improvements, says one tunneling expert.

“The use of compressed air in tunnels is now becoming a declining practice with the advent of more boring-machine use,” notes Pat Fagan, tunnel rescue co-ordinator at the Labourers Local 183 training centre.

Five workers lost their lives in the Hogg’s Hollow incident on March 17, 1960, when a fire started in the tight quarters of a watermain cavern. With their lone exit blocked by fire and noxious fumes, the five men moved to the other end of tunnel until they reached a concrete bulkhead.

The poorly lit tunnel was 35 feet underground and was six feet in diameter and had a 36-inch watermain running through it.

Air pressure was used to compensate for soft tunneling conditions, helping to avoid cave-ins and the entry of water and silt.

There were no fire extinguishers, resuscitator masks, flashlights or telephone system in the tunnel. When emergency personnel turned off the air compressor, in order to stop feeding the flames oxygen, water and silt started seeping in, entombing the workers in a muddy grave.

Fagan finds it stunning that there was no safety equipment in the tunnel.

“It really caught my eye that there were no fire extinguishers and the air compressor was poorly serviced, which allowed oil residue to collect in the tunnel as well,” he says.

The current requirement of self-rescuer breathing apparatus in tunnels is one of the important life-saving advances in the tunneling sector, according to Fagan. The self-rescuer provides three to eight hours of air if a worker is in a resting position.

With the increased use of boring machines and other larger equipment underground, let alone working around things like trains in tunnels, there are still tunnel clearance regulations which are an issue, notes Fagan.

“It is the only thing I am scared of,” he said. “The current regulations are outdated and have been an ongoing concern for 25 years.”

Fagan, to this day, still hands out copies of the inquest into the Hogg’s Hollow tragedy at tunneling project sites whenever he gets a chance.

“I leave the copies there to remind people of the dangers they do face.”

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