TCH building's brick issues highlighted ahead of facade collapse

The city had been aware of issues at the Toronto Community Housing building where a facade partially collapsed over the weekend.

Bricks began falling from the facade of the 12-storey building at 3171 Eglinton Ave. East, near Markham Road, on Saturday.

Residents say it sounded like an explosion and felt like an earthquake when the bricks began to fall.

"There [were] people just running out of the building, not knowing what was going on," resident Andrea Scott told CBC News.

Fortunately, no one was injured when the bricks fell off the top four storeys of the building.

On the weekend, Toronto Community Housing president Greg Spearn said the brick veneer had water penetration occur behind it during the winter and the ensuing "freeze-thaw situation has popped the bricks and caused a bit of a cascade."

Spearn said the issue was not a structural one.

"It doesn't look very good, but people will be safe in their homes," he said.

The housing provider is dispatching engineers to the scene to examine the rest of the wall.

CBC News has learned that in an audit issued by the city online on the day before the bricks fell, inspectors had warned that the exterior walls and their components were not being maintained in good repair.

Advocates say this is the latest example of how critical repairs are needed and what can happen if they are not completed.

Watch the video above to see a full report from the CBC's Matt Llewellyn.