I know exactly where this is at too, I used to drive past this place all the time.
It was a fairly small warehouse which is why I ain't surprised at the end results of the brilliance involved here.
Warehouse floor collapses, triggers hazmat call
One minor injury reported after lead crashes onto containers of rubbing alcohol below
By Mark Bowder , Emily Gillespie and Patty Hastings
Published: November 19, 2013, 2:23 PM
A heavy load of lead collapsed through the main floor of a west Vancouver warehouse Tuesday afternoon, creating a 50-foot hole. The lead fell onto some chemicals stored below, and a thick sheet of concrete wall was pulled down in the collapse, which was reported around 2 p.m.
Vancouver Warehouse and Distribution Co., 1101 W. 11th St., was condemned, and trains were not allowed to pass through the BNSF Railway at the rear of the warehouse, said Vancouver Fire Department Battalion Chief Rick Steele; officials feared the vibrations from passing trains could cause the building to collapse.
Battalion Chief Kevin Griffee said a worker with a forklift had unloaded pallets of lead ingots when the main floor of the building gave way. The worker had backed up the forklift before the collapse and was not injured. About 400,000 pounds of ingots dropped onto about 1,000 gallons of rubbing alcohol that was stored below in plastic containers. Griffee was not sure how much of the flammable liquid was released. One man was treated for chemical exposure.
The building was so unstable that some traffic on the adjacent BNSF Railway was halted.
“It sounded like and felt like an explosion,” said Judy Bower, whose husband owns the business. “The building shook, the lights went on and off.”
The warehouse building, which houses a variety of items — from chemicals to food to clothing — also includes loading docks where trailers regularly bump the building. But this, she said, was different.
“Our first concern is — was anyone there?” Bower said.
Her husband, business owner Chuck Bower, ran toward the sound and found that a pile of lead had fallen on top of the rubbing alcohol containers. The chemical caused a burning sensation in his feet. He removed his shoes and was treated at the scene. He stood outside of the warehouse wearing no shoes while firefighters investigated.
“Nobody was down there, nobody was injured. It was the best possible outcome we could have,” Judy Bower said.
Warehouse foreman Dennis Niemann had just been labeling the lead, placing a piece of paper on the pile that indicated which rail car the lead had come from.
“I walked back into my office and boom,” he said.
400.000 pounds of lead.Say that out loud to yourself. FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS, of lead ingots.
That is TWO HUNDRED TONS!!!
Gee I wonder how thick the concrete floor was, four, maybe six inches?
It's nice to know that morons are not indigenous to any one section of the country.
There does seem to be an abundance of them here locally though.
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Posted by: Tukiyooo
Local News Flash- Lead Is Heavy Updated at :
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Thursday, November 21, 2013
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