About 150 employees at Parsons Manufacturing Co. in Illinois were shocked to see their company’s building turned into a pile of mangled steel beams and other rubble as an F-4 tornado ripped through the area. But what’s even more shocking is that they were inside the building when the storm hit. Thanks to reinforced concrete masonry shelters, all 150 people…
Tag: Masonry
Could Your Home Withstand A Fire
In December 2004, a fire destroyed three townhouses and damaged a fourth in Lorton, Va., just south of the nation’s capital. Investigators later determined that faulty wiring had sparked the blaze. Raul Castillo, a spokesman for the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, said that fire marshals digging through the rubble uncovered an anomaly in the internal wiring at the…
Some Schools May Be Health Hazards
School boards and parents are discovering that schools they labored hard to raise money to build in the last 10 years or so are subjecting their children to mold and indoor air quality problems. Many of these problems can be attributed to choices made in building materials. Some materials provide a ready food source for mold. Roof leaks, wall leaks,…