A construction worker seen climbing from the collapsed concrete at a downtown Kamloops development.

Image Credit: INSTAGRAM/fullsheets

A workplace investigation in Kamloops found a concrete company used the wrong equipment and was overseen by an underqualified supervisor when a parkade roof collapsed at the city's largest-ever residential build.

One person was injured when newly-poured concrete collapsed at Kelson Group's downtown construction site two months ago. A WorkSafeBC investigation found it could have been far worse, but it also could have been prevented.

Investigators found the nearly 1,300 square-foot slab of wet concrete fell because sub-contractor Pagnotta Inc. used the wrong support posts, despite its own designs.

READ MORE: What it’s like to be a crime scene cleaner in Kelowna

The failure of the form work meant to support 240 cubic metres of concrete and Kelson Group's failure to verify the work "exposed workers to a significant risk of serious injuries or death," the report read.

The March 5 job was the last ground-level concrete pour at City Gardens, meant to put the roof atop its three-storey underground parkade.

Just after 9 a.m., workers were halfway through the concrete pour when it collapsed. Twelve employees in the immediate area were at risk and an electrician was left with minor injuries. Initial reports indicated there were no injuries at the site and exactly what happened to that employee or specifics about their injury isn't clear from the report.

Pagnotta's engineers designed the job, including specifying the type of temporary supports to hold up the concrete forms. Investigators found, however, workers on site used a different kind of post which were blamed for the collapse.

READ MORE: Planned burn during 2023 Shuswap wildfire could have killed trapped firefighters

WorkSafeBC also found Pagnotta's on-site supervisor wasn't properly trained or instructed for the job. The company continues to work as a subcontractor for the City Gardens project.

Clean up and repair work after the collapse is still on going. Within the next four to six weeks, the section that caved in will be repoured, according to Kelson group.

Kelson Group was given an April deadline to show WorkSafeBC it has taken renewed precautions to avoid similar mistakes in the future. WorkSafeBC also found there were "grounds for imposing" a fine, but it's not clear whether it will enforce one yet.

Company president Jason Fawcett said they met the deadline and the matter has been resolved with WorkSafeBC.

"We would like to thank our on-site team of safety representatives and superintendents for their diligence in building out and implementing good safety practices, so that when an event occurs like it did, we can react quickly to ensure the safety of those on-site," he said in a written statement.

— This story was updated with a response from Jason Fawcett at 7:58 a.m., May 10, 2025.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2025