Dairy Farm Building – Sumas, WA

Manufactured Metal Building Collapse Investigation

A fabric covered metal and concrete block structure collapsed and was ripped apart as a result of strong winds that occurred over a series of days in Fall of 2009.  The metal roof frames were held in place with stacks of concrete ecology blocks around the building perimeter.  The improper construction of the concrete block foundation was the catalyst for the failure.  The concrete blocks were not strapped together and so the top concrete blocks were pulled off the stack by the roof structure during heavy wind gusts. 

We researched the weather records for the area and found that the gusting wind speeds were up to 59 mph.  We performed a structural engineering analysis of the foundation which indicated that the concrete blocks would become unstable at wind gusts of 55 mph.