NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF WELLAND
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WELLAND - After structural damage caused part of the building under construction at 350 Prince Charles Dr. to collapse, the City of Welland has issued an order to remedy an unsafe building under the authority of Section 15.9 of the Building Code Act.
The order requires the building to be secured and remedied following the recommendations outlined in the structural assessment report and served on the owner of the building, including anyone who has an interest in the building.
"At this time, the extent of the damage appears to be concentrated in the south position of the building involving the four-floor slabs supported on the east exterior and interior load-bearing walls," said Jack Tosta, chief building official. "The cause of the damage is unknown as the building is still under construction with work taking place as recently as last Friday afternoon."
Welland staff have been on-site since the early hours of Feb. 19, securing and assessing the area. In addition, the city's chief building inspector attended the site to investigate the damage and condition of the building.
A Ministry of Labour investigator was on-site awaiting their structural engineer's arrival to assess the building's condition to determine if the building is structurally adequate to allow personnel to investigate the damages further. Once that assessment is complete and the conditions are favourable, the owners' structural engineer of record will evaluate the damages and provide recommendations for remedial action to be taken.
The site is secured, and the owner has retained an outside security company to monitor the site full-time.
YouTube user RandyStitt4640 posted this video of what appears to be security camera footage from across the Welland Canal of the collapse. PelhamToday has not independently verified the video:
A Facebook group called Welland Firefighter L481 posted these images on Sunday evening from two weekend callouts:
