Monday, December 5, 2016

Almost a Tragedy: Gas Station Roof Collapse Linked to Incompetence and Cost-Cutting

Update 12/14/2016: the 'debris' of the roof canopy collapse was removed and business is back to normal. 

The "culprit" behind the original installation of the gas pumps and roof canopy has been identified as Danny Baker of Baker Oil Company in Lenoir City, TN--during a phone interview, they admitted to hiring and paying a sub-contractor to do  the work.

The cause of many construction disasters is often negligence, incompetence, and the total disregard for public safety... in this mishap there are two obvious clues: In nearby Athens TN where EF-2 winds wreaked havoc, many buildings next to or near gas pumps were destroyed, but none of the gas station canopies collapsed--in this roof collapse, there is no visible damage to the building--only the single post holding the canopy above the gas pumps failed.
Pastor Williams recently bought the business from Gary Davis, who owned the building since it was built back in 2001.
The heavy steel-frame canopy was attached by a single steel post, which sheared off it's ground level tack-weld mount--on 11/28/2016.