BOISE, Idaho — Members from Boise Fire Department, Boise Airport, Ada County Paramedics and Boise Police Department took turns addressing the public in a news conference Friday, providing the latest on the collapse investigation, and response from everyone involved in the rescue and recovery mission.
Three men died Wednesday evening after a jet hangar in the process of being built collapsed. Nine other people were injured in the incident. Boise Fire Department said five of the nine are in critical condition.
The Ada County Coroner's Office identified Craig Durrant, 59, Mariano Coc Och, 24 and Mario Sontay Tzi, 32, as the three men killed in the collapse.
Boise Fire Department said in a news conference on Friday they were training on the airfield when the incident occurred, which allowed them to respond quickly. They did not comment on the conditions of the victims, due to an OSHA investigation.
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First to speak was Boise Fire Department Chief Mark Niemeyer who provided the incredible circumstances surrounding the quick response from fire crews.
“This was not three agencies responding, it was a team," Niemeyer said as he expressed the cohesive response between the initial three responding agencies, Boise Fire Department, Ada County Paramedics and Boise Police Department.
"Our crews are always training for the unpredictable, and Wednesday was unpredictable," Niemeyer added. He was proud of his team and all those responding to the accident. "We worked as one," he said.
Boise Airport Director Rebecca Hupp spoke next, crediting the first responders and crews being on the scene in minutes. Hupp also confirmed the incident "did happen on airport property."
Last to speak was Ada County Paramedics Chief Shawn Rayne, who provided precise details of the crews who responded to the scene.
"From an EMS perspective, it pushed us to our limits," Rayne said. "Within 12 minutes, we had 6 ambulances on the scene."
Rayne stated that within 12 minutes there were six ambulances on scene, along with supervisory personnel. He said that Canyon County provided two additional ambulances and a private ambulance company sent three more.
According to Idaho Secretary of State records, Big D Builders has been operating in business in the valley since 1996 and were the contractors working on this building. The hangar was located at West Rickenbacker Street and Luke Street and, according to building permits, was made of pre-engineered steel.
Inland Crane was hired to assist Big D Builders in the building construction. According to a statement from Jeremy Haener, Vice President of Inland Crane, a crane was working to place an end truss when the hangar collapsed "due to an unknown structural failure."
Haener said the crane boom snapped on impact. Inland Crane originally had four cranes at the location to build the hangar, but the steel erection contractor requested for three of the cranes to be removed with a majority of the work done by Wednesday afternoon.
By Friday morning, the accident was still fenced off by police. Wright Street is still closed between West Rickenbacker Street and Orchard Street.
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