A worker was in an excavation handling a hose connected to a system circulating hot water. When the hot water made contact, the worker needed to get out of that pit immediately. The ladder was there — it just wasn't inside the pit where the worker was. It was sitting at grade, at the edge above.
The worker fell back in trying to exit. They got out on the second attempt. They did not escape without serious injury.
What Happened
On July 11, 2023, Fer-Pal Construction Ltd. was rehabilitating a water main at 561 Hespeler Road in Cambridge — relining approximately 100 metres of 16-inch pipe using a resin cured by circulating hot water from a boiler truck. During the final stage of the process, a worker descended into an access pit to disconnect a hose from the connection point.
While removing the hose, the worker was exposed to the hot circulating water. Serious scalding injuries followed. When the worker tried to exit the excavation, the ladder — which had been supplied but positioned at grade, not inside the pit — was not accessible from inside. The worker attempted the climb, fell back, and had to try again.
A Ministry investigation found that supervisor Antonio Visconti was responsible for the work in that excavation, and that Fer-Pal had failed to ensure a ladder or equivalent means of egress was installed inside the pit before the worker descended.
Fer-Pal was fined $140,000 and supervisor Visconti was fined $7,000, each with a 25% victim fine surcharge, following guilty pleas in Kitchener Provincial Offences Court.
What the Law Says
Section 71 of Ontario Regulation 213/91 is the provision the Ministry charged: "Adequate means of egress shall be provided from a work area to permit the evacuation of workers during an emergency." A ladder sitting at grade rather than inside the pit is not adequate means of egress from inside that pit. A ladder left at grade is not inside that area, and it is not usable from the bottom of the pit.
Basically, what this means is simple: emergency egress from a pit must be possible from inside the pit, not from the rim. When hot energy sources are involved, seconds matter.
Three Things This Case Teaches Ontario Contractors
- A ladder on site is not the same as a ladder inside the excavation. Section 71 of O. Reg. 213/91 requires adequate means of egress from the work area. For a worker standing in an excavation, that means egress reachable from inside the excavation, not from the rim.
- Supervisors carry personal liability for excavation egress. Supervisor Antonio Visconti was convicted under section 27(1)(a) of the OHSA, the duty to ensure a worker works with the measures and procedures required by the Act and the regulations. If you oversee work in an excavation, confirming that the ladder is inside the pit is your responsibility, not just the company's.
- When hazardous energy (hot water, pressurized lines, chemicals) is near the excavation, rapid egress becomes critical. Pre-entry checks must include explicit confirmation that egress is installed inside the pit before descent is permitted.
If your crews work in excavations adjacent to utility rehab, watermain work, or any system involving hot or pressurized energy, review your pre-entry checklists. The full analysis is in the WorkSafe Sounds article linked above.