By Caleb Slinkard
Journal Staff
Commerce —
Dozens of bricks fell from Whitley Hall’s 12th floor cooling tower Sunday night, prompting university officials to temporarily shut down both entrances to the building. No one was injured in the incident. At approximately 8:30 p.m. Sunday night, students were advised via the university’s IRIS alert system to avoid the building, and at 11 p.m. they were allowed back into the building, but only through the north entrance. The south side entrance to the 12-story residence hall remains closed.
According to a news report from KETR, bricks were still falling off of the building an hour after the initial IRIS alert. University police department officers led students out of the building with hard hats on Sunday night to locate their cars, inspect them for damage and move them to a safer distance. There are no confirmed reports of vehicles damaged by falling debris.
Monday morning, structural engineers from JQ Dallas, LLP inspected the residence hall and declared it to be structurally sound.
“Earlier today, we observed the area of detached brick veneer located on the east wall of the cooling tower enclosure, 12th floor, at Whitley Hall,” the engineers’ report read. “The brick veneer is an exterior finish material, and is not part of the structural frame that supports the building. During our limited observations, we did not observe any deficiencies or signs of distress in the reinforced concrete frame of the building. In our opinion, it does not appear that the detached brick veneer has compromised the structural integrity of the concrete frame of the building.”
The engineers did recommend that the university block off certain areas of Whitley Hall.
“We did observe that the detached section of brick lacked metal brick ties, which secure the brick veneer to the concrete masonry unit (CMU) backup walls,” their report read. “Until further notice, we recommend that areas adjacent to the east and west exterior walls, and the plaza area on the south side of the building be barricaded to prevent pedestrian access to these areas.”
According to Director of Facilities David McKenna, a locking system will be installed to secure the bricks.
“Based on yesterday’s investigation, the incident was a unique situation where bricks pulled away from the building and not by a structural defect,” McKenna said, in a university press release. “Going forward, we plan to install a locking system that will ensure that the brick veneer and other exterior building elements are secure and do not pose a risk to the university community.”
Whitley Hall, constructed in 1969, is home to 466 students this semester. Repairs to the brick veneer will be scheduled after a thorough inspection of the entire building exterior is completed, according to university officials.
Story updated Jan. 18 at 6 p.m.
Falling debris from the top of the Whitley Residence Hall on the Texas A&M University-Commerce campus damaged several cars, prompting university officials to shut down access to the building temporarily. At approximately 8:30 p.m. Sunday night, students were advised via the university's IRIS alert system to avoid the building, and at 11 p.m. they were allowed back into the building, but only through the north entrance. According to a university source, a section of brick approximately 20 by 20 feet large fell, but no students were injured in the incident. The south side entrance to the 12 story residence hall remains closed.
More information will be made available as it is released.
