ST. LOUIS • City Public Safety Director Eddie Roth says he wants to require evacuations of large public tents during warnings of severe weather.
"People have no more business being under a tent in severe weather than they do being out in the open," Roth said Tuesday. "We need to learn from this incident."
He was referring to the destruction of a party tent when a thunderstorm struck downtown Saturday afternoon. About 100 people were injured, one fatally, when the tent operated by Kilroy's Sports Bar, 720 South Seventh Street, was blown from its moorings and pushed against a railroad trestle.
Alfred Goodman, 58, of Waterloo, suffered head and neck injuries and was pronounced dead at St. Louis University Hospital.
Roth said he will await a report from fire and building inspectors on the incident, but described their review "more as a lesson learned than a police report." He said his intention was to rewrite safety regulations.
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The city now requires an establishment that operates a large tent to assign an employee who will "monitor conditions and address concerns that (public officials) might have." The rule says nothing specific about weather.
Roth said he probably will rewrite them to require evacuation plans for patrons whenever the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning or a severe thunderstorm warning.
City rules require tents covering at least 1,000 square feet for public use to be strong enough for 90 mph wind. Roth described that as an industry standard but said inspectors had no way to test a tent for structural strength.
Kilroy's obtained a city permit April 11. Kevin Broz, owner of Sun Rental Inc. of Bridgeton, said Tuesday that his crew properly installed a safe tent.
"Those things are not designed to be storm shelters," Broz said.
Roth said he probably will require tents to be evacuated whenever the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning or a severe thunderstorm warning. The Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for St. Louis about 40 minutes before the tent was destroyed.
The Weather Service issues a tornado warning when a tornado has been spotted or is likely to form, based upon radar data; or a severe thunderstorm warning when a storm with 58 mph wind or one-inch hail is spotted, or is likely to form, said Weather Service meteorologist Jon Carney.
He said 58 mph wind can bring down large limbs and damage roofs and siding. Wind at St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia reached 42 mph during the storm Saturday, but it could have been stronger downtown, a spokesman said.
Goodman was among 17 people who were rushed to SLU and Barnes-Jewish hospitals. As of Tuesday, three patients remained in SLU Hospital, with one still in intensive care.