The Ottawa fire department’s specialized structural collapse team has been busy, with three deployments in less than two weeks.
On Tuesday afternoon, the unit responded to a two-vehicle collision downtown, with one car crashing into a Metcalfe Street apartment building, just left of the front entrance.
Thankfully, nobody was hurt or trapped, and firefighters got to the scene in three minutes flat.
Once on scene, just before 5 p.m., they noticed the structural integrity of the exterior wall had been compromised.
But first, before they stabilized the wall, firefighters disconnected the car’s battery and applied absorbent to a fuel leak to mitigate any fire risk.
Once these hazards were controlled, the structural collapse unit worked on a two-post shore to support the building façade directly above the window where the vehicle crashed.
They installed a double raker shore to prevent the facade from falling onto the sidewalk below.
The impact of the crash dislodged a cinder block support at the corner near the front entrance. The impact also shifted the front door.
And, as a final safety measure, firefighters installed a trusty sheet of plywood to block access to the second-storey window.
They told the building super to block access to the front entrance until it was repaired.
Firefighters cleared the scene at 7:30 p.m.
