'It didn’t need to happen': calls from London based advocates for better construction safety

The trench collapse that killed two construction workers in Ajax earlier this week hit close to home for those in the London area affected by similar tragedies.

Now that incident has some calling for stricter regulations and closer adherence to safety guidelines.

“I don’t want to see any of these guys get hurt, I don’t want to see them not go home, or go to the hospital and spend 28 days,” said injured construction worker Jacob Hurl, who can’t help but worry for workers he observes at the construction site just outside his home in Lucan.

Hurl, now 23, nearly lost his life when in December of 2020 he was working at a construction site on Temple Terrace in London when part of a roof collapsed. He was trapped under concrete and construction rubble for several hours, and continues to recover from his injuries. Two fellow workers died in that incident.

So when he learned of the fatal trench collapse in Ajax, a flood of emotions came pouring back.

“It made me angry, I was shaking, I didn’t sleep,” said Hurl.

He said he’d like to see tighter regulations at job sites, including more frequent safety inspections, and wants existing safety guidelines to be followed more closely.

“It didn’t need to happen. We have equipment in the construction industry, safety equipment to protect these guys. Part of one of those things is like a trench box.”

Trench boxes, used to shore up trench walls, were at the scene in Ajax, but it’s not known if they were in place when the incident happened.

The trench collapse, which also injured two other workers, is under investigation by the Ministry of Labour.

Former Londoner, Shirley Hickman lost her son Tim Hickman in a workplace accident in London in 1996. She has since founded and serves as the executive director of organization to support victims’ families called Threads of Life. She said workplace safety is everyone’s responsibility.

“So the employer has the duty to train, and to ensure it’s a safe workplace. The workers have the responsibility to work with those safety guidelines, and to ensure that they’re working properly and safely, with the right equipment. And the courage to say ‘no’ and walk away. And that’s a huge step for people to say ‘this doesn’t feel safe, and we have to stop this until we make it safe.’”

According to the Ministry of Labour there were 22 construction deaths in Ontario in 2021, slightly better than 2020, when there were 23 such fatalities.

But for those left to pick up the pieces, even one is too many.

“It’s a long journey of grief and loss, and investigations that they’re going to be facing, so it’s always the families that come to my mind first,” said Hickman.

Hurl, meantime, is training to become a project manager at construction sites, so he can promote safety from the inside.

“It hurts, you know. It hurts to see someone not be able to go home.”