‘Someone could have died’: Calls for change after Auckland construction site’s block walls collapse

A potentially dangerous incident on an Auckland building site has raised eyebrows in the construction industry.

Scaffolding and up to eight block walls, each around 3m high toppled over like dominoes on a site in Auckland’s Glen Innes on May 16, where 28 new dwellings are being built.

A neighbour to the 11-13 Farringdon St site, Lisa William’s, was home with her daughter when it happened.

“It was loud,” William’s told the Herald. “I thought potentially it was something was coming through our back section, that’s how loud it was.

“I ran outside and I think there were probably two people on site. One was sitting in a van, one was wandering around and I just double-checked is everyone okay? Is anyone stuck under there? And he just said no and carried on.”

Scaffolding and up to eight block walls around 3m high toppled over. Photo / Supplied

William’s said she felt shocked by the lack of concern from workers, and phoned the council and WorkSafe before taking pictures and videoing the aftermath of the incident.

She also claimed workers had been on site late the night before constructing the walls, working with head torches in the dark without safety gear.

“They were working there at 9 o’clock at night,” she said. “There were no harnesses, there were no hi-vis jackets... no helmets.

“I think it was all about getting people in, cutting corners and getting it done.”

Auckland Council field surveying manager Jeff Fahrensohn said a building inspector carried out an initial assessment of the site on the day of the incident, before WorkSafe took over.

Photos show the bricks were hollow and hadn’t yet been filled with concrete. Photo / Supplied

The aftermath of a building site collapse in Glen Innes. Photo / Supplied

WorkSafe concluded the incident occurred due to “strong winds” and “not all risks on the site were identified and controlled”.

They issued an immediate non-disturbance notice on the site which prevented worker access until it was deemed structurally safe on May 21.

However, William’s and other people who live in the area have told the Herald they saw builders on site the very next working day.

WorkSafe said the developer, Farringdon Investments Holdings, later completed its own safety review and revised the way it installs block walls.

Photos show the bricks hadn’t yet been filled with concrete - something that increases stability.

This is normally done every 1.5m if there is no bracing.

During a phone call with the Herald, Farringdon Investments’ Sole Director Paul Huang, insisted the incident was simply a case of “bad luck” and insisted that building hollow block walls as high as 3m was common practice.

Andrew Moore, commercial manager of the Victoria Park-headquartered CMP Construction, disagreed, describing it as “madness”.

“There is absolutely no strength to that wall at all. It’s just like a big sail,” Moore said. In his opinion the only benefit to pouring concrete at a later stage would be to “save pennies”.

“It’s very lucky nobody got hurt. Someone could’ve died.”

The Building Code currently doesn’t require concrete to be poured into block walls at specific heights.

Many of those in the construction industry - like Moore - want that changed.

“Someone is going to get killed one day,” Moore said.

“It’s concerning to see construction techniques like this, knowing that this happens a number of times every year.

“I think the Building Code needs to change and laws need to be put in place.”

Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk said in a statement that he

was “considering the occupational regulations governing tradespeople to ensure the regulations drive safe, high-quality work”.

The council said it would carry out another inspection of the Farringdon St development once work was complete to check compliance with the building consent.

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