Sunday Update: Cowboys Facility Collapse

Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News collected his thoughts in black...

But the most interesting question comes from DMN investigative reporter Brooks Egerton...((the collapse pictured, thanks Ron Jenkins/Ft. Worth Star-Telegram))

"...So was this building just in the wrong place at the wrong time? It's an odd thought, given that the whole point of the steel-framed, fabric-covered building is to give the team a place to practice in bad weather.

The manufacturers, Summit Structures and Cover-All Building Systems, tout their work in building other sports facilities, including ones for the New England Patriots and Texas A&M. But I can't find any mention on the company Web sites of the Cowboys facility. Why?

Another issue we're looking at: A Summit-built warehouse in Pennsylvania partially collapsed during a 2003 snowstorm, less than two months after opening. A 2007 court order blamed Summit for design flaws.

"We design for snow load and wind load," an executive for the manufacturers told a Canadian newspaper in 2003, as I reported today in The News. "It's not a bubble."

Mac Engel of the Star-Telegram caught up with Wade Phillips in his article...

"I was out on the field. I ran for the door and didn’t make it to the door, and the door fell," he said. "I saw the guys go out the door, and the whole door fell."

"This was a unique weather situation," Irving Mayor Herbert Gears said. "Many teams use these types of structures for practice facilities. It’s something that we will be looking at to make sure that these types of structures aren’t inherently dangerous."

8:30 Update: Cowboys Facility Collapse

((HT: Myfoxdfw.com/KDFW))

There were about 70 people in the facility, counting coaches, other team personnel and media, officials said. ((The facility is pictured, thanks myfoxdfw.com))

Ten of the injured were taken by emergency vehicles. Two others went to hospitals on their own.

"This worked out very, very well from a medical point of view," said Dr. Paul Pepe, head of emergency medical services for Dallas County. "Right now, I think we don't have anybody who is in a life-threatening situation."

The white, tent-like building is large enough to be seen from miles away. It was built in 2003, for Bill Parcells' first season as coach.

Storms often make loud noises inside the so-called bubble, but this time overhead lights swayed violently. One of the team's video staff was the first out the door, followed by Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com. Eatman was hit by something and went down a few feet away, then heard someone screaming for help. He recognized it was Todd Archer of The Dallas Morning News.

Eatman and colleague Josh Ellis tried freeing Archer but the structure wouldn't budge. "It was like a car," Eatman said. Then safety DeAngelo Smith and linebacker Brandon Williams were able to get it up just enough for Archer to squirm out.

"All I saw was blue jerseys," said Archer, whose right elbow and legs were scraped. "I was trapped, I couldn't move. Then those guys lifted it up -- not very far, but I was able to move from my side to my back. ... Once I got out of there, I looked back and the whole thing was down."

Archer said that as he fled for shelter, other players appeared to be stepping through the debris looking for others in need of help.

Eatman said one of the swaying lights wound up more than two football fields away. The giant blue star atop the building lay crumpled on the ground. The storm knocked out power at team headquarters and splintered trees across the property.

Larry Rodriguez, a local television cameraman who was in the news several years ago after he was attacked by Kenny Rogers while filming the former Texas Rangers pitcher, was treated with six stitches for a cut on a hand.

"We checked and we can't find any other damage than this particular location," said David Tull, an Irving police spokesman. "The nearby area didn't have any reports of structural damage."

Here's video of the collapse from Rodriguez's camera...

DMN's Todd Archer on the Collapse

((HT: NBC5-Dallas))

Cowboys beat writer Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning news was trapped underneath one of the exit doors after the practice facility came crashing down. Two of the Cowboys players actually moved some of the debris so Archer could wiggle his way out from underneath it all.

Here's his account...

"We're lucky no one got electrocuted with all the water in the building," head coach Wade Phillips told NBC5. "A couple of players had minor injuries, but they were all right."
"I saw it coming down and didn't have time to react," secondary coach Dave Campo said. "I hit the ground and was able to get back up."