Brother of worker killed in Kelowna crane collapse creating petition for more safety measures

People gathered successful Kelowna astatine Knowles Heritage Park connected Friday for nan three-year day of a fatal crane collapse.

On July 12, 2021, a crane helping conception a residential building connected St Paul’s Street collapsed, sidesplitting 4 building workers and different man moving successful an adjacent building.

One of those killed was Cailen Vilness, who was 23 erstwhile he died.

“It’s been 3 years and, to my knowledge, location hasn’t really been overmuch successful position of regulations that person been mandated since,” Layne Vilness, Cailin’s brother, told Global News.

“There person been aggregate incidents passim nan Lower Mainland that person continued to happen.”

To curb that, Layne Vilness says he’s moving a petition to make crane operations safer.

“We’re aiming for much stringent training,” Vilness said during a Zoom telephone from his location successful Kitimat. As an ironworker, there’s a database of compulsory trades successful B.C. that if you’re not a registered apprentice aliases ticketed journeyman, you can’t do that job.

“You person to beryllium successful nan strategy arsenic personification that is further educating themselves connected really to do their occupation properly.”

The main objectives of nan petition include:

• Ensuring each building crane institution has their ain shaper training
• Retirement of cranes that are 30 years of property aliases older
• Increased wave of instrumentality value checks

The petition is expected to commencement circulating adjacent week.

Layne Vilness hopes his petition sparks a occurrence successful getting his recommendations implemented successful nan building crane manufacture crossed nan province.

He said crane building tin beryllium vulnerable work, particularly astatine higher elevations. If there’s miscommunication betwixt coworkers, “it’s a digit aliases a friend, and you don’t get to prime which 1 it is, unfortunately.”

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Since nan accident, rules and regulations person been put successful spot to make activity sites safer, and much regulations successful nan works.

“The conversations are ongoing,” said Clinton Connell, executive head of B.C. Crane Safety.

“There are a number of discussions that are still happening pinch respect to things for illustration supervision, training, training readiness and nan enforcement of nan certification types.”

On Friday, nan City of Kelowna and nan Mission Group announced $150,000 successful backing to thief complete nan memorial.

Several lawsuits person been launched successful nan accident’s wake, pinch constabulary recommending charges of negligence causing death.

The crane was being utilized to conception a building by Mission Group.

Kelowna politician Tom Dyas said nan memorial will supply “an area for families to travel and remember.”

Layne Vilness concurred, saying, “When my family and I do spell to Kelowna, we don’t person to spell and look astatine nan building wherever my relative took his past breath.”