Parking Deck Collapse in Atlanta

Un unexpected incident happened this Monday in Midtown Atlanta, causing a parking deck to collapse and several vehicles parked inside to be crushed. Fortunately, thanks to the firefighters, there were no victims reported. The cars however, were seriously damaged, Jalopnik reported.

More than 150 firefighters together with federal officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had to handle the situation at temperatures of over 90 degrees.

At the time of the incident, the 1,415-space garage was housing the vehicles belonging to the employees of the Centergy building, RBC Bank, Georgia Tech and members of the nearby L.A. Fitness.

Atlanta Fire spokesman Bobby Stewart said for the Atlanta Journal Constitution that “There was a pancake effect all the way down to the ground floor,” as the overall structure remained intact, as well as the entrance to the deck, where parking attendants work. The only security cameras were located at the entrance and exits, but he was unsure when or if the videos would be released.

The parking deck was last inspected when it was built and cleared for occupancy in 2002, said Catherine Woodling, a spokeswoman for Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. It has not had any code violations since, Woodling added.

According to Harry Gleich, vice president of engineering for Metromont Corporation, the company that built and installed the concrete structures used in construction of the deck, overloading the structure and causing it to crash should not be an issue.

The general contractor for the garage however, was Hardin Construction, which was recently fined for the December collapse of a bridge at the Atlanta Botanical Garden that killed one person and injured 18.

Now, all the projects in which both Hardin Construction and Metromont Corporation were involved (the BellSouth building, the Piazza Turner Field, Philips Arena, Atlantic Station and the nearby IKEA store) are put under the question mark.