West Kelowna resident Mark Schuppener remembers the incident as if it was only yesterday, but it was a little more than a year ago when he almost lost his life after his brand-new steel quonset building collapsed under the weight of heavy snow.
“It sounded like thunder, basically — I just dropped everything and I just started running to the front of the building and it was lights out,” Schuppener said.
Schuppener was trapped — he was eventually rescued by fire crews, but sustained many injuries, some serious.
Schuppener believes the building collapsed because it was made of thinner steel, which couldn’t handle the load of the snow. He believes it wasn’t the structure he ordered.
“The building that I received was not matching … the engineered drawings that I actually got with the package,” he said.
The quonset was made by Canadian company Pioneer Steel Buildings.
Schuppener feels he has a strong case against the manufacturer and is suing the company.
He said Pioneer Steel Buildings is denying there’s anything wrong with their products and the company has offered to replace the quonset — minus the labour.
Global News has reached out to the manufacturer for comment, but the company has yet to respond.