MONTREAL - One man was seriously hurt when a cascade of bricks fell on his head while he was walking on Bleury St. south of Sherbrooke St. on Tuesday night.
The man was badly hurt with injuries to his head and much of his body, but according to witnesses was able to get up and walk after being hit. He is in hospital in critical condition.
"As the bricks made the noise last night we were here, we were on site with the building's superintendent and the gentleman who got out of the bricks on his own," said Marc Varadi, son of of the building's owner, Pierre Varadi.
"One of the stone lintel's must have cracked and fissured," said Varadi.
According to the building's owner, past inspections found no problems with the stone beams that held up the building's facade. The last inspection was held six years ago.
Police say the man has not been identified and they are not sure how old he is.
City inspectors are investigating the structural failure and firefighters set up a safety perimeter around the building. An inspector working for the building's owner was on site Wednesday deemed the structure safe.
Multiple incidents in recent years
There have been several cases of people injured or killed by crumbling facades and building collapses in Montreal in the past few years.
In 2008 Mahamat Saleh Khazali died when the roof of a parking garage fell onto his car.
The following year Lea Guilbeault died instantly when a concrete slab fell from the side of the Marriott hotel on Peel St. and crashed through the roof of a restaurant.
In April 2011 a chunk of brick siding dropped from the side of a 26-storey building in Outremont and through the roof of a neighbouring building.
To date at least two coroner reports have pinned the blame on poor construction and a lack of regular inspections and maintenance.
