The reservoir sat about ten feet off the floor. Somebody had to keep it topped up so the fire system had water when it was needed, and that somebody was this worker. The tool for the climb was an aluminum shelf ladder, the kind you grab off a rack and lean against something.
They made the trip up. They made it plenty of times before. The fall came on the way down.
What Happened
On November 3, 2023, a worker at Home Hardware Stores Limited's site at 34 Henry Street West in St. Jacobs was responsible for the building's fire management system. Part of that job meant checking and manually refilling the water reservoir, which sat roughly ten feet above the floor.
To reach the top of the reservoir, the worker used an aluminum shelf ladder. Not fixed stairs. Not a proper access ladder built and secured for the task. A shelf ladder, pressed into service as access equipment for a climb that happened again and again.
While climbing back down, the worker slipped and fell. The injuries were critical.
The Ministry of Labour investigation found two things that mattered. First, the worker regularly accessed the elevated reservoir by ladder, so this was frequent, predictable access, not a one-off. Second, the company had not provided fixed stairs or a proper access ladder where that frequent access to elevated equipment was necessary. The worker also had no ladder safety training.
Home Hardware Stores Limited pleaded guilty in the Provincial Offences Court in Kitchener and was fined $75,000 plus a 25% victim fine surcharge. The conviction was registered June 23, 2026.
What the Law Says
The company was convicted under Section 19 of Ontario Regulation 851 (Industrial Establishments) and Section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Section 19 requires safe means of access, including fixed stairs or an access ladder, where a worker needs to reach elevated equipment. Section 25(1)(c) requires an employer to ensure that the prescribed measures and procedures are actually carried out in the workplace.
Basically, what this means is simple: if a worker has to get to the same elevated spot over and over, you owe them a real way up. A shelf ladder leaned against a reservoir is not a means of access. It is a fall waiting for a bad step.
The court did not treat this as bad luck on a wet rung. It treated it as a missing system. The access was frequent, the height was known, and the fix was ordinary engineering. Fixed stairs or a compliant, secured access ladder would have removed the hazard. The $75,000 fine reflects that the solution existed long before the worker fell.
Three Things This Case Teaches Ontario Employers
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Frequent access changes the rules. A task you perform once a year and one you perform every week are not the same risk. When a worker has to reach the same elevated equipment on a schedule, a leaned ladder is no longer acceptable. Build in fixed stairs or a secured access ladder and treat the recurring climb as a permanent fixture, not a chore.
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The wrong ladder is a hazard, not a shortcut. An aluminum shelf ladder is designed for pulling stock, not for climbing to service equipment ten feet up. Match the equipment to the job. If your people are improvising access with whatever is nearby, you have already lost control of the height hazard.
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Access equipment without training is half a control. The worker in this case had no ladder safety training. Even a compliant ladder needs a trained user who knows three points of contact, load limits, and safe descent. Provide the equipment and the instruction. One without the other still ends in a fall.
Walk your building and find every spot where a worker climbs to reach equipment: reservoirs, valves, mezzanines, tank tops, roof access. Ask the person who does it how they get up there, and then go watch them do it. What they reach for, and whether it was built for the climb or just happened to be leaning nearby, will tell you where your next fall is waiting.