July 30, 2010

City of Vancouver report slams botched demolition

BRADLEY FEHR

Journal of Commerce editor

VANCOUVER

A report into a botched demolition at a downtown Vancouver construction site found several problems with the operation.

The City of Vancouver report found that Global Excavating and Demolition Ltd. didn’t have a written construction safety plan in place and didn’t have final clearance from the district building inspector, as required by city bylaws.

“The protection of the public around the work sites is paramount and it is something that the city takes seriously,” said the report.

During the demolition last month, two exterior walls of a building at Hornby and Helmcken streets fell outward to the streets below.

One wall damaged a passing vehicle, a light standard and the sidewalk. The other wall knocked over a lamppost.

No one was hurt in either incident, but bystander videos of the incidents were posted on YouTube and garnered more than 400,000 views in only a few days.

The demo also received widespread media attention.

The city immediately suspended the company’s two active demolition permits, but has since lifted the suspension for the Hornby site.

The work was completed without further incident.

Before work could restart, the company had to submit a construction safety plan for the remainder of the demolition, as well as pay about $10,000 in damages to the city.

The company also retained the services of a professional engineer to review all construction safety plans and oversee the work.

Global Excavating and Demolition had been issued 14 demolition permits since 1995.

All of the permits, with the exception of the most recent one, were for single family homes.

City staff will continue to monitor all permit applications from the contractor.

The incident report was conducted by the city’s chief building official, the general manager of community services and the city engineer.

Since 1996, about 11,000 demolition permits have been issued by the city, with the vast majority for one- and two-family dwellings. Most of the demolitions have been conducted without major incidents.

About 12 per cent of city permits are for something other than the one- and two-family homes. The city reported no incidents related to those demolitions, with the exception of transportation issues.

“Fortunately, incidents such as the one at 1140 Hornby are not the norm, as most demolitions are carried out without incident,” said the report.

“It should also be noted that safety on a work site is a role shared by many parties — the property owner, contractor, city officials and WorkSafeBC.”

The owner/developer of the Hornby property is James Schouw & Associates.

In light of the recent demolition incident, the City of Vancouver reviewed the demolition permit application process and has made a number of changes:

The city is developing educational material for permit applicants, which will also be posted to the city’s website.

At the time of application, all demo contractors are now required to declare they have a construction safety plan in place for the specific location.

Inspectors will initiate a more detailed risk assessment based on risk factors such as type and location of demo, contractor experience and will provide more oversight when risk is significant.

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