Strong winds topple scaffolding at Kotka apartment building

Strong winds toppled scaffolding beside a three-storey apartment building in Sunila, Kotka, on Sunday, Yle reported. No one was injured, but two cars were damaged.

The incident could have caused more serious damage. Resident Harri Loippo had just returned from shopping with his wife and goddaughter and put the shopping bags on the table when the scaffolding came crashing down.

“If we had arrived a few minutes later, or if I had driven the car away a few minutes earlier, I would probably have been trapped underneath it,” Loippo said.

His car was left under the scaffolding after he had temporarily brought it into the yard to carry large loads. Parking had been prohibited there because the scaffolding was due to be dismantled.

A nearby carpet rack took the heavier impact, but marks were left on the roof of the car. Loippo said he and his wife had heard the scaffolding creaking during the night and feared that it would collapse.

The fire and rescue service placed warning tape around the scaffolding on Sunday. Warnings about the partially collapsed structures were also posted in the building’s stairwells.

The building’s facade renovation had just been completed. Painting company Halme carried out the work and had handed the scaffolding over to a scaffolding company for dismantling, according to its managing director, Kari Huttunen.

Dismantling began on Saturday, after which about half of the scaffolding remained standing. Protective coverings were still in place, and the wind probably caught them, Huttunen said.

“There was a strong storm during the night between Saturday and Sunday, and it apparently tore the fastenings loose from the walls,” he said.

Huttunen said nothing similar had happened during the companies’ roughly 20-year partnership. The scaffolding company dismantled the remaining structures overnight, and by Monday morning the yard was empty apart from a small section of scaffolding.