11 May Worker ropes in police

By PAUL PIGOTT
Toronto Sun

Police and firefighters raced to a Scarboro highrise yesterday after getting a call that a man scaling the outside of the building wad attempting suicide or pulling an unauthorized stunt.

Police went to the top of the building ready to charge Ivan Kristoff, 28, with mischief and trespassing, but retreated when they found out he was doing work on Corporate Rd. building, which is still under construction.

“We thought he was a jumper,” a Scarborough firefighter said.

Kristoff, a “rope access” construction worker, was demonstrating his high-altitude rescue skills to the media while on a stud drilling  job 20 storeys up.

Rescue team
Tridel’s construction supervisor Jim Hall said the property manager,
who called authorities, did not know Kristoff would be scaling the building overreacted “This was just a breakdown of communication,” said Metro Police Sgt. Mark Longmuir.
Kristoff was displaying his skills to get publicity for his plan to create a volunteer high-altitude rescue team-the Canadian Rescue Emergency Service Team – on call and coordinated with the fire department.

“There are 10,000 highrises in Metro and no specially trained urban highrise rescue unit, ” said Kristoff.

Scarboro Fire Department deputy chief Bob Drummond isn’t looking for volunteer help.”It sounds pretty wild to me,” Drummond said. “We have got our own high-angle rescue team, we’ve got our own equipment. We are certainly not calling in anybody else for assistance.”

NO STUNT …
Ivan Kristoff demonstrates rope access rescue while hanging off  the side of a Scarboro highrise yesterday.