A facade on Van Horne Avenue was demolished Friday morning in Outremont, a week after its neighbor collapsed. The situation raises concerns about the presence of asbestos dust in the area. Public Health is investigating.
The facades of the two small residential buildings, located between avenue De L’Épée and avenue Querbes, were initially to be integrated into a condo building project currently under construction.
But on February 9, the facade of 1128 Van Horne Avenue collapsed, fortunately without causing any injuries. A lot of debris fell into the street and onto the sidewalk, leading to the closure of the artery for several days. On Friday, it was the facade of 1110-1114 Van Horne Avenue – a beautiful century-old brick cottage with a finely crafted roof – that disappeared.
“The controlled demolition of the building took place as follows: the work began at 7:30 a.m. and the remaining portion of the building gave way after a few minutes of activity. None of the neighboring buildings suffered damage during the demolition activities,” indicated the Outremont district, reporting the conclusions of an engineer dispatched to the site.
Swimko, the real estate developer at the center of the affair, never called back The Press Friday despite numerous attempts to contact.
Read the article “A residential building collapses in Outremont”
Public Health analyzes the situation
On Friday, the Outremont borough confirmed that it had issued a permit for the demolition of the second facade, since it posed an imminent risk of collapse.
However, the developer had to obtain the green light from the Commission for Standards, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) before proceeding, because the facade of 1128 Van Horne Avenue was potentially made of asbestos tiles. This debris still littered the ground.
“The CNESST did not authorize the demolition or the resumption of work on this site,” the organization indicated in an email sent late Friday afternoon. The site has been under a stop work order since the February 9 collapse. “The CNESST informed the representatives of the project manager that a report on the characterization of materials likely to contain asbestos (MSCA) as well as a safe work method, if applicable, is always required before authorize the continuation of work on the site. »
“CNESST inspectors closely monitor the situation on the site and the Public Health Department (DSP) has been informed of the situation,” continued the organization.
Sarah Dorner, who is a professor at Polytechnique, was walking her dog near the construction site when she heard the second facade fall. She quickly left the scene when she saw the dust rising, because she knew that the debris on the ground contained asbestos. “It’s still asbestos, it’s not something you want to breathe,” she reported. I didn’t stay in the area, I left straight away because it’s not safe. » She reported that nothing separated passers-by from this dust.
“We are aware of the situation: an analysis of the file is underway,” indicated the Montreal Regional Public Health Department, through media relations advisor Geneviève Paradis. “We are working closely with them to monitor the file in order to ensure our public health role. »