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SEPTEMBER 2012 — ELLIOT LAKE MALL COLLAPSE: A PREVENTABLE TRAGEDY?
FOCUS FOR READING
As you read the background information below on the Algo Centre Mall collapse, record your answers to
the following questions:
1. Who was involved in the rescue attempt and what technologies were used?
2. Why did some community members respond in anger when the official rescue team called off the
search?
3. How did Premier McGuinty get involved in the events?
4. What three legal actions resulted from this tragedy?
A Community in Shock
Life in the community of Elliot Lake in northern
Ontario came to a shocked standstill on a
Saturday afternoon when news that part of the
mall's roof, which also served as a parking lot,
came crashing through two floors. The number
of people who were in the mall at the time of the
collapse was difficult to calculate since both
shoppers and employees had to be accounted for.
Friends, family and community members rushed
to the scene to gather news and to witness a
tangle of twisted metal and concrete. The local
fire department and paramedics were the first
teams to arrive to begin rescue operations. The
OPP initially determined that 22 people were
injured but none of those were seriously hurt. A
canine team and thermal sensors were used to
determine if there were survivors. A Heavy
Urban Search and Rescue (HUSAR) team from
Toronto was sent on a seven-hour trek to the
community since at least one person was known
to be trapped in the rubble.
Workers at the mall said that they heard a big
noise and felt the ground started shaking
immediately before the collapse and one witness
saw a few cars fall through the roof near the
centre's escalators. Many workers ran to a back
entrance to escape. Rescue crews announced on
Sunday that it would take up to 12 hours to
stabilize the building in order to proceed with a
rescue. A person buried in the rubble responded
to shouts of rescuers by tapping at first, but
stopped after a few responses. A rescue dog
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