A block wall approximately 1.3 meters high and 2.4 meters wide. The two upper floors collapsed, and a 6th grade boy was seriously injured, breaking his leg. Each one weighs about 10 kg, so even an adult can barely lift it. This means that 12 objects have fallen from the elementary school student’s eye level. There were no reinforcing bars in the collapsed part to support the wall.
■Grandfather angered by “8-week complete recovery” for 6th grade boy
Child victim’s grandfather: “I would be most grateful if my injuries healed quickly. They are children. They are in pain.”
A grandfather worries about the safety of his seriously injured grandson.
Grandfather of child victim: “I just want the route to school to be improved in many ways.”
On the 26th, a 6th grade elementary school boy who was on his way to school in Sabae City, Fukui Prefecture, was crushed by a collapsed block wall and sustained serious injuries, breaking his right shin bone.
Sabae City Board of Education representative: “(The child) touched the block wall with his hand at the scene of the accident, and the top two levels of the block wall collapsed.”
If you compare it with the footage of the site before it collapsed, you can see that the top part of the block wall has completely disappeared.
According to the city, the brick wall that collapsed was stacked in six tiers and was approximately 1.3 meters high. The average height of 6th graders is about 146 cm, so this means that the block that was around their face fell.
Furthermore, the collapse of the wall revealed problems that cannot be overlooked.
■Block wall collapse: “There was no rebar”
Sabae City Board of Education: “No traces of reinforcing bars were seen in the exposed areas.”
No reinforcing steel bars were visible from the cross section of the collapsed wall, and no buttresses were installed to support the wall.
Sabae City Board of Education person in charge: “(Q. Did the owner not know about the reinforcing steel?) I haven’t been able to confirm that much. (The owner) is sorry for causing you such trouble and pain this time. It looks like we caused you trouble.”
Did the owner leave it there knowing it was a “dangerous wall”? The victim’s grandfather is furious.
Child victim’s grandfather: “Even the owner said, “I knew it was going to fall,” because it’s already old.But (the owner) is elderly.I can’t say anything unreasonable.”
The city conducts safety inspections on routes to and from school, but this time the block wall was not included because it was the area leading to the meeting place. From now on….
Sabae City Board of Education representative: “The owner said he would remove (the block wall) and replace it with a fence.”
■“It’s no good without reinforcing steel” experts point out
This time, the block wall collapsed. Is it a violation of the law to not put reinforcing steel inside?
Takashi Moriyama, first-class architect and architectural economist: “If you don’t put reinforcing bars in a block wall, it won’t have a certain level of strength.If you don’t put reinforcing bars in it, it won’t work.This is even stipulated by law.”
However, the mandate began in 1971.
Takashi Moriyama, 1st grade architect and architectural economist: “What about things that existed before the law was enacted?’ are “existing ineligibility.” The interpretation is that they already exist, but they don’t meet the current law. Old things can’t be helped to some extent. It may have been necessary to inspect and check it and adjust it to the current strength, but it is difficult.
In response to this accident, an emergency meeting was held by principals of elementary and junior high schools in the city, and the Board of Education requested an emergency inspection of dangerous areas by the 4th of next month.
2023-09-27 09:04:22
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