Roofer killed in fall from Penticton home
Other workers shaken up, local residents shocked by accident
A roofer is dead after falling from a home in the Sendero Canyon neighbourhood of Penticton sometime during the weekend.
Mounties say the man, whose name has not been released, was discovered by officers in the planned community around 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The subsequent police investigation has confirmed that the 59year-old man’s death was a result of a work site-related incident, in which the man had fallen from a site structure,” RCMP spokesman Dan Moskaluk said in a press release.
The house at which he was working is a single-storey rancher on Sendero Crescent. It remained behind police tape Monday afternoon as two WorkSafeBC investigators examined the scene.
Ewen Stewart, president of Sendero Canyon parent company Azura Management, said the victim worked for a roofing subcontractor.
“He’s a fellow who had been on the job for quite a while,” said Stewart. “Obviously, it’s a tragic result.”
Stewart noted Sendero Canyon updated its fall-restraint systems for roofers about six months ago at the urging of WorkSafeBC, but it’s unclear if the victim was tied off when he fell.
“The anchors are all there,” said Stewart. “Unfortunately, he’s not.”
Stewart said other workers are shaken up and eager to find out what, if any, steps can be taken to prevent future such accidents.
Lance Vaillancourt, who lives nearby, said Sendero Canyon residents were also shocked and saddened to learn of the man’s death.
The roofer often listened to music as he worked evenings and weekends by himself, and was familiar to people in the area, said Vaillancourt.
WorkSafeBC spokeswoman Trish Chernecki would only confirm the agency sent investigators to the scene following a call from police Sunday night.
The BC Coroners Service is also investigating.