# Construction resumes following barn collapse



## jar546 (Sep 3, 2019)

I have some questions about this.  I am going to assume that agriculture construction, such as this one is exempt from the building code department's review.  With that being said, if that is true, how were they able to issue a permit and then a stop work order?  Can someone from NYS please bring some clarity to this one?

GALLATIN — Construction will resume on a farm on Green Acres Road after the barn collapsed and injured a contractor two weeks ago.

A stop-work order was issued for Red Hook-based Bijou Contracting immediately after a barn collapse injured a contractor at 138 Green Acres Road on Aug. 16, according to documents obtained from the town.

A worker suffered non-life-threatening injuries and had to be airlifted to Albany Medical Center after he became trapped under the debris, New York State Police Sgt. Michael Comerford said Aug. 16.

Emergency crews were called to the scene at 9:55 a.m. The contractor, a man, was extricated from the debris by Northern Dutchess Paramedics before firefighters arrived on the scene, Livingston Fire Department Public Information Officer Dana Petty said.

Comerford declined to identify the man or state the extent and nature of his injuries out of concern for violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Building Inspector and Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Jake Exline declined to comment on the incident, investigation or what might have caused the collapse, but documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Law request showed a stop-work order was issued to Bijou Contracting the same day as the collapse.

The underlying 7,200 square-foot barn structure was mostly complete at the time of the collapse, according to photos. Photos obtained via Freedom of Information Law request show debris toppled over two scissor lifts. Photos show cement footings were released from shallow halls as a result of the collapse.

“Any and all work is to be stopped pertaining to the construction of permitted pole barn,” according to the notice signed by the zoning officer Aug. 16. “All debris is to be cleaned up and removed from the property. All construction equipment used during the construction process is to be stood back up, and removed. Once the site is clean, we can have a meeting to discuss going forward.”

The building permit was not revoked by the town, and work is expected to continue after all the materials are cleared from the site. As an agriculture building, the structure’s plans were not subject to review by the Gallatin Town Planning Board.

The building permit for the 48-foot-by-150-foot pole barn on the 89-acre farm was issued July 2 by the town to property owner Alex Fridlyard. The project was estimated to cost $70,000.

The farm’s owner and the contractor could not be reached via phone Friday.

To reach reporter Amanda Purcell, call 518-828-1616 ext. 2500, or send an email to apurcell@thedailymail.net, or tweet to @amandajpurcell.

https://www.hudsonvalley360.com/article/construction-resumes-following-barn-collapse


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## steveray (Sep 3, 2019)

Betting poor truss handling.....


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## Paul Sweet (Sep 3, 2019)

I'll go along with steveray.

I thought pole buildings were supposed to have the poles embedded deep enough into the soil to resist lateral loads.  Those tiny chunks of concrete don't even go halfway down to the frost line and would only have a bearing capacity of a few hundred pounds, unless the soil is like concrete.  I'm surprised that most of the metal anchors held.


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## steveray (Sep 3, 2019)

I didn't even look at the pics......lol


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## Rick18071 (Sep 3, 2019)

Farm workers do not have the same rights for safe buildings as other workers.


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## jar546 (Sep 3, 2019)

Just looked at the rest of the photos and this was a completely useless installation.


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## ADAguy (Sep 3, 2019)

Cute! 
Sheathing spread but not secured? Footings too shallow? Trusses lacking ties?
Any framing inspection by city?


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## jar546 (Sep 3, 2019)

ADAguy said:


> Cute!
> Sheathing spread but not secured? Footings too shallow? Trusses lacking ties?
> Any framing inspection by city?


Seeing how they had issued a permit then a stop work order, where was the plan review and inspections.  I know for a fact they have a frost depth there.  In addition, pole barns are not prescriptive in the IBC so I assume they required engineered drawings. 

JBI Where are you?  This is your state......


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## e hilton (Sep 3, 2019)

The metal base that connects the posts to the concrete looks wrong.  Footings are a joke.  I think the stop work was issued after the accident so the ahj would ge able to clear the site and have them start over the right way.  Good luck with that.


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## JBI (Sep 5, 2019)

Agricultural buildings, as defined in NYS Law and Regulation are exempt from permit requirements generally, and that would include plan review. Most jurisdictions still require a permit to document Zoning compliance though. 
The way the State Code is written any work that does not require a permit must still comply with the Code however, a conundrum built into the system. 
Not all pole buildings are agricultural buildings, and the article doesn't state the intended use of this building. If its use was intended for processing agricultural products it would fall outside the definition of agricultural building in NYS (pun not intended).
Looking at the piers they are of varying lengths, whether the contractor hit rock and stopped digging again is not clear from the article or the pictures, but that would be my best guess - they hit rock and stopped digging.


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## jar546 (Sep 5, 2019)

JBI said:


> Agricultural buildings, as defined in NYS Law and Regulation are exempt from permit requirements generally, and that would include plan review. Most jurisdictions still require a permit to document Zoning compliance though.
> The way the State Code is written any work that does not require a permit must still comply with the Code however, a conundrum built into the system.
> Not all pole buildings are agricultural buildings, and the article doesn't state the intended use of this building. If its use was intended for processing agricultural products it would fall outside the definition of agricultural building in NYS (pun not intended).
> Looking at the piers they are of varying lengths, whether the contractor hit rock and stopped digging again is not clear from the article or the pictures, but that would be my best guess - they hit rock and stopped digging.



Thank you for the clarification.  If he hit rock, pinning them would have certainly helped.  Maybe they are not aware of wind loads..........


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## JBI (Sep 5, 2019)

jar546 said:


> Thank you for the clarification. If he hit rock, pinning them would have certainly helped. Maybe they are not aware of wind loads..........



Apparently they were not aware of several things... This should be interesting to follow.


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