Update (10:20 p.m.): Deputy Chief Ed Davis said the patient was removed around 9 p.m. and placed into the care of paramedics before being rushed to hospital. The man's condition was unknown as of 10:20 p.m., however. Davis said the fire department's trench rescue team was mobilized to elevate the man from where he had been trapped. The Ministry of Labour has been notified and will commence its investigation on Wednesday morning. Barrie police will secure the scene overnight, Davis said.
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A man had to be rescued from a Barrie highrise this evening after being trapped in the 37 Johnson St. building, which is under construction.
“There was a bit of a trench collapse,” Deputy Chief Ed Davis of Barrie Fire and Emergency Service told BarrieToday.
“The patient is still in the trench (at about 7:50 p.m.), however we have access to him and he is in stable condition. We’re just in the midst of bringing him out shortly," he added.
Davis said city firefighters were called to the east-end construction site just after 7 p.m.
"They’ve made contact with the patient (worker),” he said. “There was some injuries, however those aren’t determined as of yet and our crews are just in the midst of bringing him out.”
A witness at the scene said the man was rushed to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie via police escort.
Construction has been ongoing on the Shoreview, an 11-storey rental apartment tower on 37 Johnson St. — right behind Imperial Towers, which is also 11 storeys, for some time now.
Shoreview will have 215 units in its 11 storeys behind Imperial Towers, which has 192, for a total of 407. There are 189 parking stalls on the total 3.5-acre property now, and with 214 new underground ones at Shoreview the total will be 403. All 215 apartments in Shoreview will be market rental, with no affordable housing units.