Bumping a 10 year old thread
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...apse-1.5007722
Condo manager warned of sagging balcony months before collapse
No one injured when balconies of 10-year-old Glebe building collapsed Tuesday
Giacomo Panico · CBC News · Posted: Feb 06, 2019 2:18 PM ET | Last Updated: February 6
The fourth-floor balcony at the rear of 235 Patterson Ave. collapsed early Tuesday morning, taking the two balconies below with it. (Submitted)
Annie Fitzgerald's Tuesday morning started with a bang, literally.
"I was in bed and woke up to a loud crashing," Fitzgerald said Wednesday. "I went out and saw that the balcony had fallen."
It was just before 7 a.m.
I'm glad no one was hurt. It could have been a lot worse.
- Annie Fitzgerald
The fourth-floor balcony above Fitzgerald's Glebe condo had collapsed onto hers, sending them, and part of the one below, crashing onto the building's entrance ramp off Strathcona Avenue, steps from Bank Street.
The building is only a decade old, but the collapse didn't come as a shock to Fitzgerald.
"It was a long time coming. I texted my boyfriend, 'It finally fell, the balcony finally fell,'" she said. "We had noticed issues for quite a few months. The balcony above us was slanting downwards."
Balcony slated to be 'reinforced'
In July, Dorothy Church, a senior manager with Condominium Management Group (CMG), the company responsible for managing 235 Patterson Ave., notified Fitzgerald's landlord that the company needed access to her unit to cut a hole in the bulkhead in order to access the tie-in of the balcony above.
CBC has reviewed a copy of the email.
"They came into our unit, drilled some holes into the ceiling," said Fitzgerald, who rents the unit. "It was a couple of hours, and that was it."
Fitzgerald said the workers left work materials on her balcony following the repair, prompting her to email Church in late October to ask for an update.
Worried over weight of snow
Fitzgerald's email to Church also contained what could well amount to a prophecy.
"With the cold weather upon us, snow cannot be far behind," Fitzgerald wrote. "I worry that the weight of the snow could cause the above balcony to collapse onto ours. Can you please let me know when the job will be completed?"
Church replied with an apology for the materials that were left behind, and assured Fitzgerald the company was "working with the engineers to address what is a very complicated issue. I will have the schedule and scope by the end of this week."
Fitzgerald said she never heard back.
"The materials were still there. They fell with the balcony," she said. "I'm glad no one was hurt. It could have been a lot worse."
Investigation underway
CBC requested an interview with CMG, but was only provided with a short written response by Church.
"The cause and repair is under investigation and we will be working with engineers and all related parties in this regard," she wrote.
The City of Ottawa also provided a written statement, attributed to Frank Bidin, the city's chief building official.
According to that statement, city inspectors last visited the building during its construction in 2009. The city confirms an investigation is underway.
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