Section of parking garage collapses in downtown Ottawa

UPDATE: On Feb. 27, the city's deputy chief building official, Scott Lockhart, told Radio-Canada the city is aiming to reopen Slater Street sometime Thursday. It will take a few days to pull all the vehicles out of the partially collapsed garage, he added.

Part of a downtown Ottawa parking garage collapsed early Wednesday morning, sending slabs of concrete and a section of an upper wall plunging to the ground below.

There are no reported injuries, but about 50 vehicles remain inside the six-level structure, which spans Slater Street to Laurier Avenue W. just west of O'Connor Street.

In a news release, Ottawa Fire Services said a 911 caller reported damage to a column in the garage just before 5 p.m. Tuesday. When firefighters arrived, they observed five to six girders that support the structure "bowing."

As firefighters searched the garage for people, they "confirmed the cement columns reinforcing the upper roof were cracked and broken."

A section of the garage collapsed around 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, firefighters said.

A photo from someone working in a building across the street appears to show a section of the garage's upper levels resting on the ground floor and covered in snow.

Scott Lockhart, the city's deputy chief building official, said on CBC Radio's All In A Day Wednesday afternoon that what happened is referred to as a "pancake collapse."

"Essentially the floor dropped and subsequently took out the next floors below. And that was located directly over the entrance, which also, unfortunately, took out the ramp and ways to get out the vehicles," he said.

Lockhart said there is not yet a plan for how to get the vehicles out, but that contractors on the project are working to figure it out.

10:10A parking garage partially collapses in downtown Ottawa

City officials are still trying to figure out what caused a parking garage on Slater street to partially collapse this morning. We speak with Scott Lockhart, Ottawa's deputy chief building official about what he knows so far.

'Risk of imminent collapse'

On Tuesday, about seven hours before the collapse, Lockhart told CBC News that engineers believed the building was "at risk of imminent collapse" because of the large amount of snow piled on the roof.

City building inspection program manager Patrice Dumais told reporters Wednesday the exact cause of the collapse has not been confirmed.

He said the work on Wednesday will include determining if other sections of the building have to be removed or stabilized, and how many vehicles can be safely removed.

"Our priority right now is to ensure the site remains safe, that the structure that remains is stable," added John Buck, Ottawa's chief building official. He said it's not yet known whether the remaining structure can be repaired or will need to be demolished.

Engineer Normand Tetreault is a Quebec expert on the weight of snow accumulation who is not involved in the assessment of this garage. He told Radio-Canada that "probably the accumulation of the snow plus rain over the snow" created a load that was too heavy for the structure to support.

He said the collapse may have been avoidable if the snow had been removed.

Around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, CBC observed a demolition crew using heavy machines to remove part of the structure facing Slater Street, and construction fencing surrounded the site.

On Wednesday afternoon, the city confirmed to CBC that "isolated demolition is currently underway to secure the site, which will allow engineers to complete their investigation."

Street, sidewalk closed

Ottawa police have closed Slater Street between Bank and O'Connor streets, plus the north sidewalk on Laurier.

On Tuesday, city staff, police and representatives from parking management firm Indigo, which runs the parkade, kept people away from the scene and offered help to those whose vehicles remained trapped inside, including taxi chits.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, the garage's owner, GWL Realty Advisors, told CBC: "This is a concerning incident and we're thankful there were no injuries. We're working closely with the city, emergency crews and a local team of experts to address the situation, render the site safe, and allow for the removal of any vehicles. We will be engaging with the relevant parties to investigate the cause of this incident." 

A spokesperson for the city told CBC by email that the garage was built in 1989, and said the city's Building Code Services department doesn't perform maintenance inspections post-construction.

"It is the garage owner's responsibility for the upkeep and good repair of their building," the spokesperson wrote.

On Wednesday morning, passersby stood behind the police tape surrounding the scene to look and take photos. Some strained to catch a glimpse of their vehicles inside the damaged garage.

Nick Denton said he parked a rental truck in the garage and could see it "not under the collapsed part, but just right adjacent to it. So if anything else were to collapse, it's coming down on the truck."

Denton told CBC he parked just before 5 p.m. Tuesday when the building was taped off, and said there was nothing to concern him at the time. But when he went for a walk later, he said he "could definitely hear the popping and cracking of the building."

Dana Vaughan said she parks in the garage frequently and noticed a lot of dripping water this week.

"I just thought, oh, the snow is melting," she said. "But there was a lot of water dripping, so it could have been the snow coming through because that's apparently what collapsed it."

Vaughan said she felt "very lucky" that she took public transit to work on Wednesday, but is now frustrated that she'll have to search for a new parking lot "because parking downtown is limited."

Tim Sheffield and Mae Whalen parked in the garage after a long drive from Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday. When they first learned about the collapse they were sure their car had been crushed, but when they arrived at the scene Wednesday morning they got a glimpse of what they think is their vehicle, unharmed.

"Now I'm feeling optimistic," Sheffield said. "Maybe they'll shore it up or something before it comes down."

They said they plan to catch a train back home, and have been told to keep receipts for any expenses they incur.

The garage is four blocks south of Parliament Hill. Last June, the city's planning department signed off on a plan for a pair of apartment towers at the site.