Decades ago, schools across Canada installed wired glass as an effective fire barrier for students’ safety. But is it really all that safe?
Sean Lloyd, a former student of Burlington’s Assumption Catholic Secondary School, thinks not, and he has the scars to prove it.
As Lloyd pushed open the door in the hallway of his school, the glass broke from the force of his push and severely lacerated his arm. He filed a $5 million lawsuit against the Halton Catholic District School Board, advising that all schools get rid of the potentially harmful material.
Doug Perovic, a forensic engineer and U of T professor of materials science and engineering, is serving as an ongoing witness in the case, and recently shared his insights with several media outlets across the GTA.
“It’s an inherently unsafe material from the perspective of impact,” he said in an interview with the Toronto Star. “Even from the very beginning, they knew that its strength capabilities were not anywhere near where it should be for a true safety glass. But it was sort of exempted because they needed a fire glass material.”
Perovic hopes schools will remove or reinforce the wired glass. He points out to The Star that the material’s structural integrity is jeopardized during production, as the wire and the glass cool at different rates, causing cavities and inconsistencies.
Read more:
- 680 News
- Burlington Post
- CHML Radio
- CFRB Radio
- CBC.ca
- Toronto Sun
- CityTV
- Global News
- Toronto Star
- CHCH News
Perovic, of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, teaches a fourth-year forensic engineering course – the only university course in Canada that reviews case studies surrounding engineering design and applications in relation to public safety.
He has also provided his expertise surrounding the incidents of falling glass in Toronto’s high-rise buildings and materials failure on the Gardiner Expressway.
