Kelowna worker dodged piece of crane that fell 29-storeys by seconds

Dust and debris scattered as far as 22 metres when a piece of a crane fell from the top of a Kelowna tower in 2021.

No one was injured, but a worker at the One Water construction site had been standing on the spot where a crane block fell 29 storeys to the ground, according to a WorkSafeBC investigation.

It happened just months after an entire crane collapsed at a nearby construction site, killing five people.

The WorkSafeBC investigation at One Water Street was completed this summer and provided through a Freedom of Information request.

According to the report, a worker had just been lowered from a worker platform at the end of the day, Sept. 13, 2021. After unhooking the platform, the worker attached a set of chains to the crane block, which were being lifted to the top of the 29-storey tower.

The crane operator, working for Fintry Contracting, then raised the hook to the top, preparing to shut down the crane. The hook raised too quickly, even for the emergency controls to stop it, hitting the top and shearing the steel cable.

Two large metal blocks, carrying hooks and pulleys, crashed to the ground 35 seconds after the worker stepped away.

At least three workers were standing 10 feet from the place where the larger block smashed into the ground. The second, smaller block, went through a wooden shed and through a 30 centimetre concrete foundation.

Dust and debris shot into the air. A piece of a pulley wheel was found across Sunset Drive, the furthest from where the crane block landed at the Kerkhoff Construction worksite.

WorkSafeBC concluded its investigation without enforcing fines against either company and without finding fault on the crane operator. The investigation found the operator had been sufficiently trained and it appears accidentally sped up the crane such that it bypassed a safety mechanism.

Both companies have since implemented new shutdown policies and set speed limits for crane operators to raise and lower their loads safely.

The 29-storey tower is the smaller of the two at One Water. It was completed in 2022, a year after its 36-storey neighbour.

While the One Water Street investigation report was completed nearly four years after it happened, the fatal Brooklyn Tower investigation was completed at least a year ago. WorkSafeBC has so far refused to release its report while the BC Prosecution Service reviews the police investigation and considers whether criminal charges will be laid in connection to the tragedy.