Inquest hears of roofer’s fatal fall through opening
15-foot plunge occurred ‘split second’ after gap exposed, foreman tells jury
A roofer working near Brian Izsak testified Tuesday during a coroner’s inquest how he watched his co-worker suddenly fall through a small opening in the roof of Goodlife Fitness that led to injuries that claimed his life.
Casey Jones said the pair was among a crew of about 10 workers employed by Rauth Roofing, which was hired to remove and replace the roof at Goodlife Fitness in the 3900 block of Dougall Avenue on July 15, 2016.
The crew was nearing the end of removing old roofing materials with one of the final steps including removal of what Jones described as a “box” on the roof that only had a piece of sheet metal underneath covering an opening — about three feet by three feet.
Seconds after the box was placed aside, Izsak stepped on the sheet metal, Jones told the five-member jury at the inquest.
“I just seen the top of (Izsak’s) head going through the hole,” he said. “It was just peripheral — not a real good look. It looked like he just walked right into it. I want to say his hands went up and he went through.
“I ran over to look down to see where he was and could see him on the ground.”
Jones guessed Izsak fell about 15 feet before hitting the floor inside the fitness club. Izsak died from his injuries 11 days after falling through the roof opening.
The jury is tasked at the inquest with hearing testimony this week on what occurred in the death of Izsak, 53, and Rob Morneau, 44, who died several months later in Windsor after crashing through a skylight while working as an electrician for Vollmer Inc. on the roof of Ventra Plastics on Nov. 3, 2016.
Upon the conclusion of testimony from a dozen witnesses, the jury will be tasked with making recommendations to coroner David Eden, who is presiding over the hearing, on workplace safety and regulations they feel may help prevent others from suffering similar tragedy.
In Izsak’s death, Rauth Roofing has already been found guilty by the Ministry of Labour of not ensuring there was a guardrail around the opening and fined $100,000 in 2018.
Vollmer ended up being fined $150,000 for violations under the Ontario Construction Projects Regulations following Morneau’s death.
Izsak’s older brother, John, is attending the hearing on behalf of the family and reflected the toll it has taken on them. Brian Izsak, who worked as a roofer off and on throughout life, had been living with his father, now 85 years old, leading up to the tragedy.
“He had quite a laugh and liked to make others laugh,” his brother said. “He and my dad were close, they liked to have their hockey battles (on favourite teams). This has been the hardest on my dad. His health declined really quick after this happened. He was not eating properly, had some falls and is now in long-term care.
“My youngest brother can’t even be here (to witness the inquest). It’s too hard on him. So, I come here and relay the information to them. That’s how we are handling this.”
John Izsak was working on a construction site himself in the Toronto area on the day of his brother’s mishap.
“It’s more on the management side, so I know what sort of (safety) things need to happen ahead of time,” he said. “I know sometimes everything seems to be in a rush about money and time. But if you take a few extra minutes it can help prevent a lot of things.”
He was hopeful the jury might consider recommendations that can help eliminate shortcuts that might occur on construction sites when it comes to safety issues.
Among other witnesses to testify on Tuesday was Dashk Duhanaj, a foreman for Rauth Roofing, who was crew leader on the day of Izsak’s fall.
Under questioning by Elizabeth Brown, counsel to the coroner, he echoed many of the same details that Jones explained occurred that day on how the box was removed, exposing sheet metal and an opening below.
There was plywood nearby the crew was going to place over the hole, but Izsak fell “in a split second” after the box was moved, Duhanaj said.
When asked by Brown why Izsak went to the spot of the opening that led to his fall, the foreman could only answer “I don’t know.”
Two employees from Ventra Plastics — Sylvia Laforest and Kadeashe Lepine — who were the first to rush to Morneau after they saw him crash through the skylight and land on the ground, also testified to what they witnessed.
Laforest, through tears in recalling what happened, was the first to reach the side of Morneau, screaming at Lepine, who had her phone to call 911.
Lepine said she frantically attempted to follow directions being provided by the 911 operator to check the pulse of Morneau, which she described as “weak” and then attempted to perform CPR until paramedics arrived.
The inquest continues in Superior Court on Wednesday morning.