Structural collapse lawyers note that firefighters receive a large proportion of their injuries and suffer a large number of fatalities from partial structural collapses that occur in burning buildings where they’re fighting fires. Fire investigators, the curious, and returning homeowners sometimes suffer the same fates when they’re inside buildings that have burned.
It probably belabors the obvious for our structural collapse lawyers to say that fire weakens structural connections and structural supports to an unpredictable degree. This is particularly true of wood and wood-framed structures. But stone and masonry can split, crack, and crumble under extreme conditions too. And not all metal supports withstand fir damage well.
Yet when curious children see a burned building on which some structural members still stand, they often boldly walk in not expecting any further damage to occur while they’re there. And returning building owners, concerned to see how much they’ve lost, often don’t immediately think of the possibility that further collapses could occur. Structural collapse lawyers know that even well trained fire investigators who’ve surveyed and tested a charred building’s remaining structural integrity before entering can’t predict with complete accuracy what will stand and what will fall.
In Copperopolis, CA, a Fire Captain forming part of a crew fighting a residential house fire at night received serious injuries from the partial structural collapse of an exterior wall. Two other firefighters received minor injuries. The Captain had 22 years of experience with Cal Fire. The partial structural collapse occurred about an hour after firefighters responded to the blaze.
If a Fire Captain with 22 years of experience can’t predict a partial structural collapse, neither can anyone else. So our structural collapse lawyers caution you to always be aware of the danger from burned and burning buildings and stay clear.