42 Unity garage roof trusses collapse, no one injured

Forty-two wooden roof trusses collapsed and splintered this week during construction of Unity’s new public works garage.

No one was hurt when the 80-foot-long trusses fell — some on Sunday and the remainder on Monday morning, township officials said. Construction was halted on the main portion of the concrete block building as insurance companies for the township and project contractors investigated the cause of the collapse and assessed the damage.

“We’re just disappointed that it’s going to be delayed,” supervisors Chairman John Mylant said of the $2.4 million project at Thursday’s board meeting. “We’re not happy with that, but what can you say? It happened.”

The trusses had been installed and were supported by bracing, but had not been covered with plywood sheeting, when the collapses occurred, said Dan Schmitt, township engineer.

Workers on Monday morning discovered that 13 trusses had collapsed, Schmitt said. Surveillance footage from the adjacent municipal building placed the incident at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, he said.

The construction workers were not inside the building when the remaining trusses collapsed at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Schmitt said.

“All the trusses are totally shot, they’re in pieces,” Schmitt said. He noted some plumbing also was damaged when the trusses fell.

The project’s general contractor, Walter Mucci Construction of Perryopolis, couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday night.

“Everybody has been information-gathering all this week,” Schmitt said. “We’re looking at whether it was weather-related, whether it was faulty material where the trusses are concerned, or faulty installation.”

Work on the main portion of the garage is on hold until the township’s insurer signals for construction to resume, Schmitt said. Crews are able to proceed with roof installation on an exterior vehicle port, which wasn’t affected by the collapse, he said

Work began late last year to construct a similar garage on the footprint of one that was destroyed in a 2017 arson. The township’s insurer, Cincinnati Insurance, has offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to a conviction in the arson.

The project experienced another setback this month when the township received no bids for installing a sprinkler system that wasn’t part of the previous garage, but is required by updated building codes. The supervisors agreed to place a new advertisement for bids.

The delay in construction could mean that Unity’s public works crew will have to work out of two rented facilities longer than expected, Mylant noted.