Penn Mar Shopping Center
KPA personnel were on site within two hours of this gas main explosion. The explosion caused the partial collapse of approximately 7,500 square feet of this 60,000 square feet shopping center.
The building, two-stories in height, is built of open-web steel joists supported by steel frame and exterior concrete block walls.
KPA had to immediately assess the structural integrity of the building to establish safe working parameters for emergency personnel on the scene. Our recommendations included partial demolition of the most severely damaged part of the building, as well as shoring, bracing, and removal of roof top mechanical units at compromised portions of the structure to remain.