A 39-year-old New Brunswick firefighter has died after falling from a hydraulic construction lift downtown.
Dale Clinton, of Saint John, N.B., was out with his friends when he climbed the lift at the corner of Sparks and Bank streets between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. Friday morning.
His friends dialled 911 when he fell five metres from the equipment.
Paramedics performed CPR on Clinton before taking him to the Ottawa Hospital’s Civic Campus trauma unit where he was pronounced dead.
Clinton was attending the International Association of Fire Fighters’ Canadian Political Training Academy in Ottawa.
“Our deepest condolences go out to Dale’s family and friends and his brothers and sisters in Saint John,” said IAFF general president Harold Schaitberger, in a news release. “We are all saddened by this tragedy.”
The hydraulic lift is used by construction workers to access high windows or hydro poles. Paramedic superintendent Francois Cote, as reported by the Ottawa Citizen, said workers usually position the lift at its highest level when they are done for the day so that “no one can steal it.”
Det. Steve Lewis, as reported by the CBC, said the incident is not suspicious and that the lift was parked correctly.