DAVENPORT, Iowa — The main cause of the Davenport building collapse is outlined in the city's report. The repair work done three days prior to the collapse "severely compromised the western bearing wall and caused it, as well as the area it supported, to collapse."
The report, prepared by White Birch Group and SOCOTEC Engineering, along with the city, says the exterior shoring was severely undersized, inadequately restrained to both the wall and pavement and did not engage any brick other than limited portions of the exterior wall.
But now, the million-dollar question is: Who was doing that work?
According to a city permit, Bi-State Masonry, who was believed to be doing the repairs, stopped work on the building on May 11. The city's report refers to the unknown workers as simply "the most recent masonry repair contractor."
Security camera footage shows two unknown contractors removing the outer layers of the exterior wall with a two-by-four. Another picture shows two men on a crane after just removing a large section of the exterior wall.
Investigators wrote in the report that they received no documentation of repair work after May 26. They relied on said security footage to tell the story.
Select Structural, the engineering company hired by the building's owner Andrew Wold, is also under scrutiny in the report for inadequate oversight of repairs. The report says, "lack of professional oversight allowed the work by the most recent repair contractor to proceed in an unsafe, incomplete, and improper manner."
News 8 reached out to Bi-State Masonry and their lawyers but has not heard back.
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