Tree clearing company calls equipment ‘dangerous’ after metal object hit Kitchener home
New questions are being raised about the equipment that sent a chunk of metal flying through the air and into a Kitchener, Ont. home, missing the homeowner’s head by mere inches.
Robert Caluian was brushing his teeth Monday morning when the object crashed through his roof and landed in his washroom.
“It was like a jump scare. I just heard a loud sound,” he told CTV News on Thursday.
Caluian lives near Chicopee Ski & Summer Resort, which is currently undergoing an expansion. Part of that work includes clearing trees from parts of the property near Fairway Road North.
Chicopee CEO Bill Creighton said he spoke to his contractor doing that work and believes a tooth from a tree grinding machine broke off and went flying across a row of houses.
He described the equipment as a disc mulcher attachment that was put on an excavator.
“It's like a circular cheese grinder that, on the tree, would just grind it up,” he said in an interview on Thursday. “In his 40 years of being an operator, he's never experienced anything like this. He's actually very distraught.”
The contractor was not available to speak to CTV News.
Creighton said they were both still in shock.
“The thing about Chicopee is we're all about safety,” he added. “We put people in the air for skiing. So to have something happen in the off season of this strange nature is totally bizarre for us.”
Another company weighs in
Rayzor Edge Tree Services, based out of Elmira, is not involved in the resort’s expansion but they’re familiar with disc mulchers. Owner Ray Bowman said it is not illegal to use those attachments, though his company chooses not to.
“It's a very it's a dangerous mulcher to use,” Bowman told CTV News on Friday.
Instead, his company uses a drum mulcher that has a deflector or door you can pull down.
An example of a drum mulcher, this one owned by Rayzor Edge Tree Services in Elmira. (Heather Senoran/CTV Kitchener)
“The only purpose of that deflector is to keep the debris from flying out the front and having something like this happening,” he said.
According to Bowman, it isn’t uncommon for debris to be thrown without a door blocking it, but thinks a metal tooth breaking off would only happen in “extreme conditions.”
“It's a four-foot wide disc spinning at 2 to 3,000 r.p.ms. If something gets going with that disk and then lets go, it will fly over quite a distance for sure,” he said.
What’s next
Chicopee has apologized to the family and said the contractor is willing to pay for repairs to their home. Caluian said he’s grateful for the apology and feels lucky to be alive.
Tree clearing has been happening at Chicopee for the last few weeks and work is expected to wrap up in the next few days.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Wisconsin school district says active shooter 'neutralized' outside middle school
A Wisconsin school district said an active shooter was 'neutralized' outside a middle school in Mount Horeb on Wednesday, and no one inside the building was injured.
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he does not regret calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko,' and now his MPs are renewing calls for the House of Commons Speaker to resign, this time over ordering the Official Opposition leader to leave the chamber.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirms his party will support the Liberals' federal budget
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will support the federal budget, ending any speculation that the party could pull out of its deal with the minority Liberal government.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
Lawyers for man accused of killing 4 women to argue he's not criminally responsible
Lawyers for a Winnipeg man accused of killing four women say they plan to argue that he is not criminally responsible because he is mentally ill.
B.C. tribunal decides first case involving non-consensual sharing of intimate images
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.