HomeMy WebLinkAbout013 UNSAFE STRUCTURE DETERMINATION
October 6, 2021 Andy Holloran HomeBase Partners 20 North Tracey Avenue Bozeman, Montana 59715 406.3404.1799 Subject: Report and Notice Re: Original Deaconess Hospital at 15 W. Lamme Mr. Holloran, This letter is to serve as my report regarding the unoccupied original Deaconess Hospital building at 15 W. Lamme (Hospital), pursuant to 2018 International Building Code (IBC) section 116.2. You have requested allowing the demolition of the Hospital under section 38.340.080.A.3 of the Bozeman Municipal Code (BMC), which requires a determination that the building is an unsafe structure, I have determined that the building is an unsafe structure in its current condition based on my own observations and technical reports provide by you. This letter constitutes notice of my determination that the Hospital an unsafe structure in its current condition pursuant to IBC section 116.3. Additionally, IBC section 116.3 provides, “… Such notice shall require the person thus notified to declare immediately to the building official acceptance or rejection of the terms of order.” Please immediately respond to this letter in writing indicating your acceptance or rejection of the terms of this order. Timeline and Investigation: August 25, 2021 Received Structural Conditions Assessment via emailed from Andy Holloran. The Structural Conditions Assessment conducted by DCI Engineers states “the heavy
nature of the building and the deterioration of the upper-level concrete makes it
susceptible to failure or severe damage in a design seismic event. The recommended
upgrades are critical to ensure life-safety no matter the future use of the building, and
it should not be occupied without these repairs.”
DCI Engineers Summary: Required - Exterior Wall and Parapet Bracing, Concrete Repairs: Based on our understanding of the extents of the renovation, the IEBC does require bracing
of the unreinforced masonry and hollow clay tile walls (all exterior walls),
which can be achieved through connections to the existing roof and floor
structure and new interior metal or wood stud furring walls. Repairs to all
damaged or deteriorated concrete structural elements will also be required
prior to occupancy.
Recommended- New Lateral System: Finally, the installation of a code-
approved lateral system is highly recommended to improve life-safety for the building occupants with the introduction of a new CMU shear wall system as shown in Appendix A. Any modification to the occupancy of the roof or any new additions to the building would also trigger the required installation of this system. “Overall, the building requires significant upgrades to ensure it can function
adequately and provide life-safety to the occupants following a renovation or
adaptive reuse. A thorough cost-benefit analysis is highly recommended as to
what can be reasonably salvaged while still providing a functional and safe
building from all aspects in conjunction with the structural integrity.”
September 3, 2021 Received TD&H Engineering report on pre-renovation asbestos and lead paint inspection via email from Andrew Gault. City of Bozeman Building is not certified to determine the asbestos level so our analysis of the threat asbestos pose to public health and safety is dependent on the TD&H Engineering report: “37 HAs sampled during the inspection were determined by laboratory analysis to contain asbestos in quantities greater than 1%. These are shown in Table 1 below.”
Asbestos
A total of 37 areas of ACM were identified. Two materials were identified as
having 2% chrysotile. The first material, drywall joint compound, is considered
non-ACM according to the EPA’s wallboard system clarification. The second
material, CMU surface texture, was reanalyzed using the PLM 400-point
counting method and found to contain less than 1% asbestos; therefore, the
material qualifies as non-asbestos-containing per EPA guidelines. However, as
OSHA does not recognize a lower limit of asbestos, certain OSHA regulations apply when any detectable amount of asbestos may impact employees involved in the renovation activities. Lead paint Results:
Results
A total of 22 paint HAs tested positive for lead-based paint, and a further 102
paint HAs were analyzed as lead-containing and are shown in Table 3. Results
of all painted surfaces analyzed are contained in Appendix D, and XRF sample
locations are shown in Appendix E. September 3, 2021 Site visit – As you requested, I conducted a site visit with DCI’s engineer on September 3, 2021. In Attendance: • Ben Abbey - Bozeman Building • Scott Mueller - Bozeman Fire • Sarah Rosenberg – Bozeman Planning • Danielle Garber – Bozeman Planning • Andrew Gault – Owner Rep. • Matthew Hubbard – DCI Engineers • Jami Lorenz – DCI Engineers Scott, Sarah, Danielle, and I arrived at the north entrance and met with Andrew, Jami, and Matthew and entered the building, moving to the third floor. On the third floor I observed that all structural member had been exposed and no finished wall covering was present. I notice that there were no interior walls present, the area was fully open, and it was in extreme disrepair. Matthew walked Scott and me through the damage critical areas. I witnessed areas of concrete broken away exposing reinforcement bar (rebar) in structural concrete columns and beams. I also saw beams with obvious stress cracking visible. I asked if they had performed any additional tests, like x-ray. Matthew said they had not performed any destructive testing or x-ray. He explained that they have mainly preformed visual analysis. Walking further through the 3rd floor, he explained that the hollow-clay tile with the exterior brick veneer was not providing gravity structural support, which is also outlined in the report. This exterior brick veneer was in between the structural columns and beams as covering for the exterior of the building and did not appear to be offering structural support as Mathew had explained. We moved to the 4th floor, which was the most damaged and aged area in the entirety of the structure. I observed the entire floor in extreme disrepair. I actually
tapped with my boot on one of the damaged concrete columns and pieces of concrete crumbled off fairly easily. There was additional significant damage exposing rebar in multiple places on the columns and ceiling concrete beams. I witnessed rebar tightly bundled together when it was originally placed. Matthew explained that the type of rebar used was smooth bar and bundled together as it was in the Hospital, is not the best practice in structural performance. He also went on to say that the 4th floor would likely collapse in a strong seismic event and noted that Bozeman is in the Seismic Design Category D, which is the most susceptible to seismic events. Therefore, a seismic event could cause further damage or total failure of the structure. Specifically, he opined that if the fourth floor roof were to collapse it would cause “pancake collapse” of the stories below. I also saw a steel column and steel beam on the fourth floor that appeared to be shoring up the ceiling and asked what these are supporting or installed for. They did not have a known reason for it. Andrew thought it may be additional support for roof top mechanical equipment in that area on the exterior of the roof. These did not appear to me to be attached to the building structure in a manner that would properly transfer any load they might be supporting. We then moved to the basement from the fourth floor to look at the Fire alarm panel where Scott Mueller inspected the fire alarm system for the building. He provided the following comments below:
As a summary of findings from our site visit on Friday, September 3rd, 2021, I offer the
following: Verbal and visual confirmation that the fire alarm system was still active and functioning but had communication trouble displayed on FACP. This possibly means system not being monitored per code. Also fire sprinkler system was reportedly still active per Andrew. I reminded Andrew that if the systems are active they need to be fully maintained without any impairments. Such as alarm trouble signals. I further suggested that the alarm system could be scaled back to only monitor the fire
sprinkler system as the building is not occupied and would stand to protect
structure.
As proposed for demolition, I strongly agreed with the proposal and fully
support securing the entire building from un-authorized access.
Please accept these observations and contact me if you have further questions.
Scott Mueller.
Determination:
IBC Section 116.1 provides:
Structures or existing equipment that are or hereafter become unsafe,
insanitary or deficient because of inadequate means of egress facilities,
inadequate light and ventilation, or which constitutes a fire hazard, or are
otherwise dangerous to human life or public welfare, or that involve illegal or
improper occupancy or inadequate maintenance, shall be deemed an unsafe
condition. Unsafe structures shall be taken down and removed or made safe, as
the Building Official deems necessary and as provided for in this section. A vacant structure that is not secured against entry shall be deemed unsafe. In accordance with the International Building Code, the hospital meets the provisions of an Unsafe Structure. Considering supporting factors in the reports and my site visit with the engineer, the dilapidated state and disrepair of the structure throughout the upper floors, stress cracking, exposed rebar, crumbling concrete off of supporting members, the building poses a danger to public health and safety. The findings and observations I made during my site visit, the structural integrity of the concrete supporting columns and beams constitutes a danger to the public health and safety because in the event of a seismic event, the entire building could collapse killing people in nearby residential buildings and causing immense damage to property. The presence of asbestos in the Hospital is a danger to public health and safety because it requires proper disposal and removal in a controlled manner. In the event of a fire the system would fail to properly notify officials because the fire alarm system has been inadequately maintained, which could result in an undetected fire becoming large and hard to fight or potentially spreading to other nearby residential buildings.
Conclusion: It is my determination under the 2018 IBC Section 116.1 Conditions, that the building at 15 W. Lamme is an unsafe structure and poses a dangerous condition to the public. My observations are bolstered by the structural conditions assessment and the asbestos report conducted by licensed professionals and provided by the property owner. The building owner must immediately secure the building, including boarding up windows and securing all ingress and egress access points into the building to prevent any occupancy of the structure. Please confirm to me in writing as soon as practicable that the building has been secured against any occupation of the structure and immediately respond to this letter in writing indicating you acceptance or rejection of determination of this order. Sincerely Ben Abbey Interim Chief Building Official Cc: Martin Matsen, Director of Community Development