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Building collapse cause still unknown

BY JORGE BARRIENTOS, Californian staff writer
jbarrientos@bakersfield.com | Monday, May 12 2008 5:03 PM

Last Updated: Wednesday, May 14 2008 9:01 AM

The cause of a partial roof collapse at an office building in Rosedale is still under investigation more than two weeks after it unexpectedly broke.

Twenty-eight people were inside the building April 29 on the 7700 block of Meany Avenue when an eastside canopy section of the building suddenly broke off. The crash broke pipes and caused water damage to some offices. One woman suffered scrapes to her legs from flying debris.

A construction engineer is still investigating the collapse, city officials said. The city verified the building was safe for occupancy a few days after the collapse, and businesses were up and running inside on May 2, said city building director Phil Burns.

The building was built as it was designed, he said, and the portion that collapsed was an architectural feature of the building.

Bakersfield’s assistant building director Chris Lee said there could possibly be civil lawsuits looming.

Calls to the building architect, Skarphol Associates, were not immediately returned. Building owner Ned Strizak did not comment on the cause.

Barbara Natalia, the Kern County district manager for Farmers Insurance Group, an occupant of the building, said she thought a car crashed into the wall when the section fell.

Her employees worked from home while the building was cleaned up, but now they’re all in the office.

“Every time we hear an ice cube drop we jump a little,” she said laughing.