Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece has introduced the Rea and Walter Act to the legislature. The act is aimed at improving firefighter safety.
It’s named after two North Perth firefighters, Ken Rea and Ray Walter, who died in 2011 fighting a fire in Listowel after the roof they were on collapsed. If passed, the bill will help address one of the contributing factors in that tragedy.
The firefighters had no way of knowing the building used truss and lightweight construction, which tends to fail much faster in a fire compared to solid wood joist builds. The Rea and Walter Act would require buildings to have a sticker on the outside indicating they were made with truss and lightweight construction.
