Summit Structures
Encyclopedia
Summit Structures is a construction and manufacturing company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania
, United States
. Summit Structures provides fabric-membrane buildings up to 300' wide including design, construction, and project management services for structures built for temporary and permanent use. Offices are centrally located in Canada
, United States
and the United Kingdom
.
practice facility that collapsed on May 2, 2009 during a wind storm. The National Weather Service
confirmed that a microburst
impacted the Valley Ranch area (where the practice facility was situated). A microburst
is an intense downdraft which results in a localized area of strong thunderstorm winds. In extreme cases, microbursts can have winds which exceed 100 mph. However, a draft report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued in October 2009 and finalized in January 2010 said the Cowboys' facility collapsed in wind speeds of only 55 to 65 mph. Summit's parent company, Cover-All Building Systems, Inc., of Saskatchewan, Canada, filed for bankruptcy in March 2010.
The collapse left 12 Cowboys players and coaches injured. The most serious were Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis
, who suffered fractured cervical vertebrae
, and had surgery to stabilize fractured vertebrae in his neck; and Rich Behm
, the team's 33-year-old scouting
assistant who was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed.
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Summit Structures provides fabric-membrane buildings up to 300' wide including design, construction, and project management services for structures built for temporary and permanent use. Offices are centrally located in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
In the news
Summit was the maker of the Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
practice facility that collapsed on May 2, 2009 during a wind storm. The National Weather Service
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
confirmed that a microburst
Microburst
A microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to, but distinguishable from, tornadoes, which generally have convergent damage. There are two types of microbursts: wet microbursts and dry microbursts...
impacted the Valley Ranch area (where the practice facility was situated). A microburst
Microburst
A microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to, but distinguishable from, tornadoes, which generally have convergent damage. There are two types of microbursts: wet microbursts and dry microbursts...
is an intense downdraft which results in a localized area of strong thunderstorm winds. In extreme cases, microbursts can have winds which exceed 100 mph. However, a draft report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued in October 2009 and finalized in January 2010 said the Cowboys' facility collapsed in wind speeds of only 55 to 65 mph. Summit's parent company, Cover-All Building Systems, Inc., of Saskatchewan, Canada, filed for bankruptcy in March 2010.
The collapse left 12 Cowboys players and coaches injured. The most serious were Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis
Joe DeCamillis
Joe DeCamillis is currently the Special Teams coach for the Dallas Cowboys. He is known throughout the National Football League as among the top coaches at his position. He has also coached for the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars.On May 2, 2009, the Dallas...
, who suffered fractured cervical vertebrae
Cervical vertebrae
In vertebrates, cervical vertebrae are those vertebrae immediately inferior to the skull.Thoracic vertebrae in all mammalian species are defined as those vertebrae that also carry a pair of ribs, and lie caudal to the cervical vertebrae. Further caudally follow the lumbar vertebrae, which also...
, and had surgery to stabilize fractured vertebrae in his neck; and Rich Behm
Rich Behm
Rich Behm former scouting assistant for the Dallas Cowboys who was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed during the collapse of the team's tent-like practice structure in a severe storm May 2, 2009....
, the team's 33-year-old scouting
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
assistant who was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed.