Thursday night, at one of the nicer sushi bars in Montreal, a slab of concrete fell from the Marriott hotel, crashing through the roof of Mikasa's windowed dining room -- killing Léa Guilbeault and injuring her husband. Reports are conflicting, however it is assumed that the slab crushed and killed Guilbeault on contact (and judging from the Gazette reports, it was extremely gory). She was out for an early birthday celebration with her husband. Her birthday was today.
Mikasa is just up the street from where I work, and I once ate there awkwardly with an ex for lunch. That is the extent that I will go to tie myself to this story though, as it seems the Gazette and every other Montreal media outlet has limited itself to mainly "eye-witness accounts," as passers-by and fellow diners have been quoted extensively. Three days later, very minimal discussion has taken place in the media about why the slab may have fallen in the first place. Considering our weather, I thought regular building safety checks would have been carried out. The Marriott building had not been inspected since 2000, but I am unsure if this is a relatively long time or not when it comes to examining structural integrity. Either way, it was too long in this case. Sometimes I forget the extent to which city services must be in disarray. Things are seemingly under control, but the reality is that we consistently engage in patchwork and band-aid solutions.
This raises a whole range of questions - who is liable? will the victim's family sue Marriott? should the city be conducting more regular and stricter building inspections? will Mikasa sue Marriott? how can Mikasa possibly survive as a successful restaurant after this gruesome tragedy took place in its main dining room? What do we expect of all the involved parties and how far do we go to prevent such things from happening before it is an absurd precaution and restriction upon our daily activities?
Read the Gazette and CBC article below for more information:
CBC: Montreal probes death of woman killed by falling concrete
Montreal Gazette: 'We were sitting next to them, oh my God'
Note: This is a quote from a Listserv e-mail I just received at work:
Please be advised that starting at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21st, an architect from ___ will be inspecting the masonry on the building façade. He will require access to offices at the front of the building. Please accord him access as required.
I imagine many institutions and companies, both public and private, will be conducting voluntary 'facade' checks. Such as at my building, where decorative stone could really do some damage:
