Wooden Carport Collapses and Traps Residents
Wooden carports are veritably weaker than steel carports. We’ve written often on the benefits of purchasing a metal carport and how certification is recommended in areas where winter weather is prevalent. If you were on the fence on purchasing a wooden carport or metal carport we have a story below that will hopefully persuade you to make the right decision between the two. We send out our compassion to the residents involved in the incident, and we are never happy when unfortunate occurrences like this take place.
Wooden Carport Collapses
In Idaho an apartment complex near the Veterans Memorial parkway was plagued with an unfortunate collapse of a wooden structure outside of the complex. The structure was a wooden carport, which in effect was built to store the vehicles for all the residents in the apartment complex. It was directly in front of the building, and ended up burying half a dozen cars underneath it. Luckily, no one was underneath the part of the carport that collapsed so no injuries were reported. It happened early in the morning on a Tuesday, and the residents are expected to be completely blocked in until late the next day. The residents due have all the amenities they require, but it is unfortunate they won’t be able to make it out to work. The local fire department told the residents that staying indoors was the safest option.
No one was under the part of the carport that collapsed however, there was a woman that was under a part of the carport that remained standing. Samantha Boucher was at a nearby bank when she heard the collapse. She rushed to the structure, “We heard a roaring sound and some crunching. Everybody ran to the window and saw that the carport had collapsed.” When she got there, she said there was a woman attempting to reverse out of the carport when the collapsed happened but miraculously she was under the one bit that didn’t fall down. Boucher helped calm the woman down, and then some other bystanders helped to push the car out of the snow and ice where it was stuck. The fire department arrived in minutes, after bystanders made the call. The fire chief was quoted as saying, “It appears that the snow load on the carport, combined with the wet snow that we’ve been receiving — and rain — added weight to it to the point where it collapsed. It’s a load that this carport probably has never seen before.”
Carports From Elephant Structures
At Elephant Structures we’ve spent many year working with our engineers designing certified, residential, and commercial carports that can be built to withstand an immense amount of snow load, wind speeds, and heavy wear and tear. All you need to do is ask about our certification, extra bracing, and top of the line options and our metal carports can give you the protection you need. If you’re a landlord, and you want to purchase a carport to replace the one that fell we also offer commercial carport options that are extremely durable. This was a fairly large wooden carport, and all triple metal wide carports that we offer are automatically certified. We also always offer free installation and delivery except for custom order buildings and DIY kits. Call now for your free consultation, and we’ll get you set up with a building advisor who can help guide you into the best building whatever the weather.