I was recently researching fabric covered structures and came across an interesting article regarding tents. Now tents are expensive, not permanent and require a fair amount of maintenance.
This story is from St. Louis, where officials are expected to more closely scrutinize the large tents commonly set up near downtown stadiums after one of the temporary structures collapsed in high winds April 28, resulting in the death of an Illinois man and dozens of injuries after a baseball game.
Sam Dotson, a spokesman for Mayor Francis Slay, said it’s unclear if adequate regulations were in place and being followed or if the disaster was simply the result of people not paying attention to severe weather warnings.
“This tent was inspected, but we need to make sure there weren’t modifications to it,” he said.
The fast-moving storm ripped a large beer tent at Kilroy’s Sports Bar from its moorings and sent it and debris hurtling through the air about 80 minutes after the end of a St. Louis Cardinals game. Seventeen people in the tent were taken to hospitals and up to 100 of the 200 gathered were treated at the scene, which was near Busch Stadium.
Questions about the tent’s safety — especially in dangerous weather — remain unanswered.
Building Commissioner Frank Oswald said Kilroy’s was granted a tent permit on April 11 and it passed inspection a couple days later. He said the city of St. Louis requires tents to be able to withstand winds up to 90 mph.
Dotson said Sunday the wind gust which destroyed the tent — shattering the aluminum poles and blowing the structure onto nearby railroad tracks — was measured at over 70 mph.
“I don’t know if the storms have gotten worse or if we’ve just become more sensitive after Joplin and the storms in the South,” he said, referring to tornadoes which killed hundreds last year. “We’ve had severe weather downtown by the ballpark before. People need to be aware of their surroundings and have a plan. If there are storms or watches, what are you going to do?”
In many cases tents, such as the situation above, could be replaced by a permanent structure such as a pole building. Pole buildings are designed to withstand the code climactic conditions. Outside of the natural cost effectiveness of pole buildings, the preservation of life would have made one such a bargain in St. Louis.
