Special to Ontario Construction News
A North York-based trenchless pipe restoration company has been fined $140,000 and a supervisor was fined $7,000 after a worker was injured by hot water while working on a water main in Cambridge in the summer of 2023.
An Ontario Court bulletin said Fer-Pal Construction Ltd. and Antonio Viscontia were convicted in October of contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act by failing to provide means of escape for workers in case of an emergency.
Following guilty pleas in the Kitchener Provincial Offences Court, the company and supervisor were fined, with the court also imposing a 25 per cent victim surcharge.
The bulletin said Fer-Pal was contracted by the City of Cambridge to rehabilitate a section of water main by lining approximately 100 metres of a 16-inch water main. The liner resin needed to be cured by introducing hot water into the water main. Water was heated in a boiler truck to approximately 65-70°C and then circulated in the water main for several hours.
During the final stages of the relining process, a worker was asked by their foreman to remove a hose from a connection located in the access pit. The worker climbed into the excavation using wooden shoring and began to remove the hose. During this process, the worker was exposed to hot water circulating in the water main and suffered serious injuries.
The worker had attempted to exit the pit once, but fell back in. The worker managed to climb out of the pit after a second attempt.
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation determined that a ladder had been supplied at the edge of the excavation at grade but was not installed in the excavation at the time of the incident. This resulted in delayed egress from the excavation when the incident occurred.
Fer-Pal failed as an employer to ensure that adequate means of egress was provided to permit the evacuation of workers during an emergency, contrary to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Additionally, Visconti failed as a supervisor to ensure egress from a work area located below ground level in the form of stairs, a runway, ramp or ladder, and failed to provide adequate means of egress from the work area to permit the evacuation of workers during an emergency, also contrary to the  Act.
