On September 13, 2011 at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, Maine, a worker engaged in a multi-phase construction project for a new educational complex suffered injuries when ceiling joistssuddenly pulled away from a gym wall. The man, who news accounts did not identify, fell from a scissor lift when the steel beams and the gymnasium wall fell. The man had been working on the steel support trusses to support the gym roof when the joists gave way, causing the structural collapse.

No students were present in the area at the time. The structural collapse postponed the first day of school. Officials say that the public walkway areas near the construction remain safe for use by students and faculty. Reports say that officials are investigating the accident to determine the reason for the structural collapse.

Reports of the accident indicate that the connections between the joists and the rest of the structure suddenly failed, and the joists pulled away and fell. The wall connected to the support structures also fell. The reports do not give any detail on the nature of the materials used to connect the joists to the ceiling support trusses or the walls. But apparently they were inadequate to their given task. Inadequate structural connections pose major hazards for structural collapse and balcony collapse accidents.

This is the second major structural collapse we’ve seen this month from weak structural connections that could have gravely endangered students. In a balcony collapse at a student apartment complex, three men were seriously injured when a balcony gave way and fell three stories to the concrete below, taking the men with it.

We’re glad to hear that the structural collapse in the school in Maine caused only minor injuries, and did not harm the students. We wish the injured worker a quick recovery, and we’re glad he was not seriously injured in the collapse of all that steel. The sudden collapse of the structure around him must have been a frightening event.

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