Although we all assumed gross incompetence on first look at this fiasco, one eye witness saw the cause of the two broken beams that led to the collapse of the building…a crane…a big red crane (as can be seen at the bottom of the CP24 pics, linked by TranPlanner).
A massive red power shovel that sat idle after the collapse had been digging at the base of the building when it "clipped" a pair of steel girders just before the accident, witnesses said.
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/news/story.asp?id=546F50CE-5FB0-4E57-9570-8A740D45443D
Which is great. Just great. Because that just made one of my irrational fears rational. Another bubble burst. And here I was convincing myself of the skilled competency of crane operators. If they can hit beams, they can hit anything!
Also, I am completely confused by the statement made by councillor Rae…how does he not know “the nature of [the owner’s] concerns” if he talked to him about it?
Kyle Rae, a Toronto councillor, said the owner of the theatre told him Sunday that he was bothered by how the demolition of the seven-storey building was proceeding. "The owner of the building was concerned, but I don't know what the nature of his concern was,'' Rae said.
http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?sectionId=46&id=22921
So, here are some questions that may be worth debating:
Why don’t we scrutinize demolition plans like construction plans?
Who is ultimately responsible for this situation?
Who could have prevented it?
And on a lighter note…When the hell did Toronto get an Ambula-bus? (that thing put the fear of god into me, I swear!)
p.s. I do think the Uptown was both culturally and historically important