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| This 864-sq.-ft. Liberty farm/workshop building sustained a tornado in Princeton, Kentucky recently. Out of eight buildings on the property, only two buildings were left standing – the owner’s home and a metal building supplied from Liberty, which sustained minor cosmetic damage. |
Unaware of the numerous warnings from the National Weather Service’s regional office in Paducah, residents Henry and Louise Birrell were alerted to the approaching storm only by the sound of what seemed like an oncoming train interrupting dinner.
“Our last information placed the storm heading in the opposite direction,” Henry said. “And then we heard it. There was no time to think.”
The Birrells retreated to their basement just in time as a fierce tornado ripped through the property, reeking havoc on everything in its path. Farming corn, soybeans, wheat and cattle, Birrell had plenty to be concerned about.
“We heard the [tornado] eye blow over us, and there’s not a doubt in my mind how incredibly strong it was,” he said.
When the storm passed, Henry and his wife emerged to find only two buildings left standing – their home, with partial roof damage, and Birrell’s metal building from Liberty Building Systems, which sustained minor cosmetic damage.
“I was quite amazed and very thankful,” he said. “Everything was a mess, but my house and metal building withstood the full force of the tornado.”
Six additional buildings on the Birrell’s property were demolished by the high winds.
“They were mostly wood structures, with a few of them having brick walls,” Henry said. “My metal building is 18 feet tall, which makes it even more amazing that the structure is still standing.”
The 864-square-foot metal building withstood powerful crosswinds of the tornado and sustained minor exterior paneling damage but remains structurally sound. Henry purchased his metal building in 2001 from Bartlett, Tenn., -based Liberty Building Systems, a national company that engineers and manufactures a broad line of pre-engineered metal buildings for agricultural, commercial, industrial and self-storage applications. He uses the steel-framed metal building as a workshop to house a budding mechanic business.
“This building surviving a tornado is a great testament to the designers and engineers at Liberty,” Birrell said. “I’ve always been pleased, but this experience has made me a believer in steel buildings.”
The sheer force of the tornado, combined with destruction in the surrounding areas, also left people in Caldwell County impressed.
“People were quite surprised – especially electrical workers who came to hook up the power,” Henry said. “I overheard them saying they had no idea how my building was still standing.”
According to Henry, farmers in the area don’t utilize very many metal buildings, although he thinks they probably should.
“For me, it’s not question anymore. I’ll be using steel buildings from now on,” he said. “I even told my wife if we build a house in the future, we’ll make the walls out of metal frames.”
