Collapse of Fairview Arena roof prompts citywide arena inspections

City orders inspection of all arenas post-collapse Following collapse of Fairview Arena roof, City of Calgary launched an effort to inspect all City-owned arenas. Brenna Rose has the latest.

City of Calgary inspectors will visit all of the City’s arenas beginning Monday to ensure the buildings are structurally sound.

The decision follows Tuesday’s roof collapse at the Fairview Arena in southeast Calgary. No one was injured when the roof caved in as the building had been evacuated and secured one day prior following reports of loud cracking noises.

The City of Calgary owns nearly fifty arenas and the inspections are expected to be completed in a week’s time. The oldest buildings and those having a similar design to the Fairview Arena are considered a priority and will be inspected first.

“We will have teams of inspectors looking for virtually the same typology of construction as we saw in Fairview,” said Marco Civitarese, chief building official with the City of Calgary. “The indicators of what happened in the collapse there will be our guiding light to what we review and analyze going forward.”

Earlier this week, City officials stated all arenas were inspected on a five-year rotation, the industry norm.

The cause of the roof collapse at Fairview Arena has not been confirmed and officials say a selective demolition will likely be required to determine the root of the issue.

With files from CTV’s Brenna Rose