Worker sustained 'non-life-threatening injuries'
A construction worker was hospitalized on Oct. 23 after falling about nine metres down a manhole at Calgary's Bearspaw South Water Feeder Main replacement project, in what the Calgary Fire Department called a confined space rescue.
Alberta Occupational Health and Safety was notified and was en route to investigate, the fire department said.
Fire crews were called at about 8:40 a.m. to a construction site in the 8000 block of 34 Avenue N.W., according to the department. CityNews reported that callers said the worker had fallen "around 30 feet into a pit and was still breathing."
Firefighters used air-monitoring equipment to reach the worker and began treatment, the department said. Its technical rescue team then used a rope system to lift the worker out.
The worker was removed shortly before 10 a.m., CityNews reported, and taken to hospital by Alberta Health Services. The department said the worker was stable; CityNews reported "non-life-threatening injuries."
Investigation under way
Work at the site paused after the incident but resumed later that morning, according to the news publication reported. No source has named the employer or contractor, or the task under way.
The worker was a man, according to the report.
Alberta's OHS Code requires a fall protection system where a worker may fall three metres or more. Part 5 of the Code, which covers confined spaces, bars employers from letting a worker enter or remain in a confined or restricted space unless an effective rescue can be carried out.
Earlier injuries at feeder main site
It is not the first worker injury linked to the feeder main. In June 2024, repairs to the original rupture were paused after two workers were injured at the site, CBC News reported.
The replacement project follows the June 5, 2024, break of the existing line, the city's largest feeder main, according to the City of Calgary. CityNews reported the project is due for completion in December, with water restrictions expected from Nov. 4.
As Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) has reported, a construction worker was hospitalized after falling into a hole in Edmonton. Alberta employers have also faced large fines over excavation failures, including Precision Trenching's $275,000 penalty after a trench bank collapse and a $360,000 fine against Northern Services over unstable excavation soil.
