Two companies and a foreman have been fined in connection with the death of a man at a hotel under construction in downtown St. John’s three years ago.

Twenty-six-year-old Chris Fifield was called to work at the 12-storey Hilton Garden Inn on May 28 of 2018. Fifield was a surveyor and project coordinator assigned to lay down survey points on the 11th floor of the building.

But within a few minutes of ascending to the top, he stepped on a thin plank of plywood that had no support underneath it, and fell through, falling about 100 feet to his death.

According to the agreed statement of facts, Fifield wasn’t wearing any fall safety gear and was not aware of the potential hazards. Nor did the site foreman tell him about the risks, particularly the unsecured panel which gave way under Fifield’s weight. And there were no warning lines or barriers indicating that fall safety gear was required in the area.

In the end, investigators said the contractor’s safety plan was not site-specific and didn’t spell out what had to be in place for workers to safely work on the upper floors of the building.

Lancor Limited of New Brunswick was fined $60,000 and ordered to make a $20,000 donation to Threads of Life, which helps families affected by workplace tragedies.

Magna Contracting was fined $15,000 while site foreman Bill Squires must pay $3,000 in fines.

In her victim impact statement, Fifield’s mother said life as she knew it came to an end the moment she got the call from police.

She said her only hope is that her son’s death will lead to changes that prevent similar tragedies in the future.