Strong storm takes down new public works structure

No injuries, minor damage reported in collapse

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
July 29, 2021

Black Mountain Public Works Director Jamey Matthews examines the base of a steel structure that collapsed during a storm earlier this week. Photo by Fred McCormick

A brief afternoon storm that brought heavy rain and wind to parts of Black Mountain, July 27, caused the collapse of a new 20-foot steel structure at the town’s public works building. 

No injuries were reported in the incident, which resulted in minor cosmetic damages to the sanitation equipment parked beneath it, according to town officials. 

The $25,000 engineered unit was constructed by Mt. Airy-based Longhorn Steel Structure, Inc., which completed the project on July 23. Open on three sides, it was designed to protect the town’s sanitation trucks and other large equipment from the elements. It was also intended to allow the public works department adequate space to work on large vehicles, including its dump truck. 

Each side of the structure was fixed to the ground by mobile home anchors, according to Public Works Director Jamey Matthews. 

“Instead of having one foot anchored at the bottom, it had two, and those were on both sides,” Matthews said. “These were the stoutest anchors possible, which was something extra that we paid for.”

The anchors held through the storm, but a strong wind gust ripped the 12-gauge steel beams in half. 

A pile of debris is all that remains of a steel structure at the public works building on Black Mountain Avenue. The 20-foot unit collapsed, July 27, during a storm. Photo by Fred McCormick

“Everything was double-anchored, and double-braced,” Matthews said. “There were two braces on each side, and we had extra braces on the top for snow.”

Two public works employees witnessed the collapse, which occurred moments after the arrival of a sudden storm. A strong wind from the south pushed the structure down, according to Nick Ogle, who was standing around 50 feet away when it fell. 

“We had just come in to get out of the rain, and we started working on a lawnmower,” he said. “The rain started blowing sideways and we looked out of the bay door to make sure the windows were up on our truck, and saw it come down.”

Staff alerted Matthews, who was monitoring the storm on the other side of the building. 

“I was actually taking a video of it, because I was worried it was going to blow the awnings off of the building,” Matthews said. “I had just told one of my employees to make sure the chains were sharp on our chainsaws because I thought it was going to blow some trees down.”

Public works crews removed large pieces of the mangled structure to retrieve the sanitation equipment beneath it. A broken side mirror was the most significant damage reported, according to Matthews. 

“The town is coordinating with its insurance company and the builder to remedy the situation,” Town Manager Josh Harrold said.