SYRACUSE – The weight of ice and snow got to be too much for a Syracuse business’s awning over the weekend. The Turkey Creek Fire Territory responded to a report of a building collapse at 12:51 p.m. Sunday at the Family Dollar Store in Syracuse. Upon arrival, firefighters saw that an approximately 60-foot awning and sign collapsed along with a large portion of the brick facade on the north wall of the building. The brick facade had broken away from the structural block wall of the building. The store was open during normal business hours at the time of the collapse with employees and patrons inside the store. A witness said one patron was walking toward the entrance of the store at the time of the collapse, with debris landing near his feet. He was not injured. Debris up to three feet deep blocked the front door and employees and patrons were assisted out of the building through a door on the building’s east side. There were no reported injuries as a result of the collapse. Emergency personnel remained at the scene until approximately 4:45 p.m. The Family Dollar Store in Syracuse will remain closed until after a structural engineer has evaluated the building and determined it to be safe to occupy. The owner of the building is Garth McClain, Carmel. According to Fire Chief Mickey Scott, businesses should check with their architect or awning provider on how much weight their awning can hold. The awning that collapsed in Syracuse had drain spouts in the back, but that didn’t help with the weight of the snow and ice accumulated over the past couple of weeks. On average, Scott said the weight should be 15 pounds per cubic foot. With the recent snow and ice, he said the Family Dollar awning probably had around 30 pounds per square foot of weight on it. On an angle awning, the snow and ice might slide off. However, on a flat awning, like the one at Family Dollar, it doesn’t go anywhere. Scott said there are companies that can remove snow and ice from roofs and awnings, but the bad thing is that a person is putting their weight onto an already overloaded structure. Standing on a ladder to remove the snow and ice off an awning may help alleviate the problem of additional weight. “They were fortunate here no one got hurt,” Scott said. “It pulled the facades off the walls here. They were lucky.” Emily Ganshorn, sales representative at Lake City Awnings & Signs in Syracuse, said weight capacities depend on the type of awning and the materials used. She said her company advises customers to remove snow and ice from awnings, escpecially during harsh winters where there is heavy buildup. She noted that awning collapses are extremely rare occurrences.
Edited 1:09 p.m. Monday – additional information and photo
