Wooden Carport Incinerated Along With Sixteen Cars
While the east coast braces for a hurricane a small community on the west coast is reeling from it’s own localized disaster. An apartment complex had a wooden carport catch fire and destroy 16 vehicles. The vehicles were parked underneath the carport and as a result were almost entirely destroyed. Six vehicles were saved from the fire, but are severely damaged. The loss of a vehicle is much easier to navigate than the loss of a life, but it can still greatly harm a family for some time.
The local paper interviewed a resident from the apartment complex, Jose Gonzales. He said he woke up early in the morning to the sound of people screaming, “Fire, fire, get out.” Then he ran to the nearest fire extinguisher in an effort to quell the flames, but when he followed the smoke to the fire he realized it was futile to attempt putting out the fire himself. The was quoted, “The whole carport was engulfed in flames, beyond me being able to do anything.” In addition to the vehicles parked underneath the carport there were also storage containers with an assortment of private property held within them. The containers also burned completely, and the contents within along with them.
The cause of the fire was determined shortly after the fire by an investigator. He determined that a barbecue was the cause. The fire Captain Bill Murphy’s public statement was, “The barbecue was on top of other combustible material, and was immediately adjacent to a car and a wall.” Once the car caught fire it was over from there. The flames rose to the carport and the old wood worn dry and brittle from the California sun was engulfed. The wooden carport was ultimately the reason why the fire got so out of hand. Cars burn extremely intensely once they finally get going, and can be highly dangerous.
The few residents of the apartment complex that agreed to be interviewed said that they felt lucky to be alive. Some of the quotes are harrowing, like Gonzalez saying, “Everybody was banging on each others doors, saying get out, get out.” The majority of the residents neglected to be interviewed, dealing with the stress and oncoming hardship of losing their vehicles. It’s awful to not have transportation in this country, and even worse in this economy. The residents of the apartment complex didn’t have much of a choice when it came to protecting their vehicles, but you do.
Preventing Carport Fires With A Commercial Metal Carport
If you’re a landlord or homeowner looking to protect many vehicles and other property, than consider the commercial metal carport. Wooden carports are the go-to for a lot of homeowners due to their availability and presupposed convenience. The truth of it is, they burn down, they require heavy maintenance, they don’t cost less than steel carports, and they are much more difficult to construct. Something like the Commercial Metal Carport depicted below could be constructed in a day. That’s a 40′ Wide x 51′ Long x 12′ High built by a crew with a lift in hours. A wooden building that size could take weeks.
If you’re looking for storage space for sixteen vehicles, this carport is nearly overkill. There’s 2040 square feet in the building below, and it’s commercial frame will support this building for a long time. The commercial metal building below will require little to no maintenance annually. If there’s a sever storm a panel or two might need to be replaced if hit with debris, but commercial buildings are certified to wind speeds as well as all local codes and loadings.
Why You Should Go With Elephant Structures
The employees at Elephant Structures have been engineering and designing carports for 37 years. We strive to create the best buildings possible in every way available. If the story above doesn’t illustrate it enough, it’s obvious that metal carports and structures are the way of the future. The destruction of sixteen vehicles is a large hurdle for the affected to get through. Most Americans don’t have that kind of money to just throw away, and will have trouble getting to work after their vehicle has been destroyed.
If you’re in need to protect your vehicle as it is the sole means of transportation you have, then a commercial metal building isn’t what you’re looking for. What you need to do is speak with a building advisor to determine exactly what you need, and whether or not you should finance the structure. That’s why you go with Elephant. We have everything for every customer, all you need to do is ask. Call in now for a free consultation, or request a custom quote here.