DAVENPORT, Iowa — A structural engineer has provided some scathing criticism on the report released by the city of Davenport today, regarding the cause of the collapse at 324 Main St.
Allyn Kilsheimer, CEO of KCE Structural Engineers, was hired by Peach and Lexus Berry's legal team to conduct a separate investigation into the cause of the collapse.
Kilsheimer also investigated the 2021 Surfside Condominium collapse in Florida, along with the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995.
News 8's Joe McCoy spoke with Kilsheimer to learn more about what he thought of the city's report.
The main takeaway to Kilsheimer is that he believes the work was done by people who didn't know what they were doing. He also feels the city is not being forthcoming or transparent about its knowledge of the building's condition before it collapsed.
"I've never been in a situation before where all the records from the city were not public knowledge," Kilsheimer said. He told News 8 that of the 400 building collapses his company has investigated, none have been handled like this one.
"The city was well advised that this was a very dangerous situation it appears based on what I've seen," Kilsheimer said. "The chief building inspector and his inspectors are supposed to see what was going on, right
Kilsheimer added that Jeff Goodman, a lawyer who is representing some of the collapse victims, has seen evidence of documents that have not been released to the public.
In terms of the building's stability while being worked on, Kilsheimer compares it to standing on one leg; eventually you're going to fall.
News 8 reached out to the city of Davenport for an interview but our team was told no one was available.
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