MERIDIAN TWP. - Mary Martin didn’t realize she was moments away from being buried beneath a flat-roofed carport, which collapsed outside of her Meridian Township apartment Friday. The roof of the building held roughly two feet of snow, which caused it to topple.
Although the zoology graduate student was shocked to see her truck and seven other vehicles underneath wood and snow, she felt fortunate that she was not trapped too.
“I was just under it before it collapsed, so I’m feeling pretty good right now,” Martin said. “I just never imagined there was this much snow.
“I’ve always thought (the carport) needed attention, but I never realized it would collapse. This winter has taken everyone so much by surprise.”
Meridian Township Fire Department Lt. J.J. Stillman said the kind of surprise Martin felt is common among victims of snow and ice accidents. The dangers that come with snow are numerous, but often go unnoticed, Stillman said.
“Our business has increased with the snow, but we’re still responding in paramount time,” Stillman said. “But with cases like (the carport), if it happened once, it can happen again.”
East Lansing officials have been warning residents about dangers that often are forgotten amid the snow fall. Other common problems that come with snow include car accidents, slip and fall accidents, and now, collapsing buildings and shoveling injuries are becoming apparent.
East Lansing Fire Marshal Bob Pratt said the city hasn’t seen any major incidences yet, but he suggests residents help the city by clearing snow near exits.
“In an emergency, we count on all exits to be working 100 percent, especially in these buildings with so few exits for so many people.”
Pratt said the large amounts of snow have come as a surprise to both residents and city officials. The city got 34 inches in January of 1978, the last time this much snow was present.
“It’s something new this year,” Pratt said. “There’s been all this snow, and it just isn’t melting. It makes it much tougher to get places, but public works has done a great job of removing the snow.”
The East Lansing Department of Public Works has been working additional hours since the first snow arrived to make sure the roads and sidewalks are clear for residents.
Director Peter Eberz said the city has assigned people from units that don’t traditionally assist with snow removal to help out, as well as hiring outside contractors to haul snow.
“Our residents by and large have been extremely cooperative and patient,” he said. “We appreciate it. Unfortunately, we can’t get everybody’s street plowed as soon as we like.”
The city has been forced to store unmelted snow in parking lots at Patriarche Park, Abbott Road Park and at the pumping station on Kalamazoo Street. Recently, public works has been working to clear the streets for the onslaught of students who need to park cars.
“We’ve worked this last week to clean up the parking system as much as we could,” Eberz said. “In the 20-plus years that I’ve been here, we’ve never had a worse snow at one time.”
