Infill safety woes: Digging, asbestos and fall protection top issues at Edmonton residential sites

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeNewsLocal News Infill safety woes: Digging, asbestos and fall protection top issues at Edmonton residential sites "We have processes in place to prevent these exact types of occurrences." Author of the article: By Liam Newbigging Published Sep 24, 2026 Last updated 28 minutes ago 4 minute read Join the conversation University of Alberta engineering professor Renato Macciotta said the depth and width of the dig, along with the kind of material in the ground, the amount of rain, and the time an excavation is left standing, can all affect the risk of a cave-in. PHOTO BY JAN HARDSTAFF /supplied Article content Ten years ago, Brian Frederick Tomyn was inside a four-metre deep trench, digging a sewer line for a Westmount infill project, when the wall caved in. Article content It took crews five hours to locate his body and another four to dig him out. He was found upright, still holding onto a piece of pipe, after dying of traumatic asphyxia caused by the sudden crushing weight of the debris. Article content Article content Article content Article content A director of the development company behind the project would later plead guilty to failing to follow safety regulations. The company was ordered to pay more than $100,000 in fines, while a subcontractor was fined $425,000 and sentenced to four months in jail. Article content Headline News Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content It was also found that the same subcontractor had no previous training in excavation or construction before digging out the trench with a backhoe and sending Tomyn inside. Article content The trench had no cut back — where the sides of the excavation are sloped — nor any shoring to hold up the walls. There was just a single piece of lattice to climb in and out of the hole. Article content University of Alberta engineering professor Renato Macciotta said cave-ins at construction sites are something that seem to come up every few years, despite there being clear “life-saving” rules for the industry. Article content “We have processes in place to prevent these exact types of occurrences,” Macciotta said. Article content The tragedy shares a date with the National Day of Mourning for…