A worker was in an excavation handling a hose connected to a system circulating water at 65 to 70 degrees Celsius. 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 requires that workers in excavations have adequate means of entry and exit. A ladder placed at grade does not meet this requirement — the ladder must be accessible from inside the excavation.
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, O. Reg. 213/91 requires the egress means to be usable from the worker's location inside the pit — not positioned for convenience at the surface.
- Supervisors carry personal liability for excavation egress. Section 27(1)(a) OHSA means that 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.