Evening star., 1948-01-12
Empire Probers
To Call Head Of
|wrecking Firm
Shipp Thinks Soft
Brick in Supporting
Wall Cove Wuy

The head of the wrecking COM
pany clearing the debris Of the En-
pire Building will be questioned by
the Commissioners inquiry board
to find out what his wreckers have
learned about the cause of the coll
lapse, Board Chairman Stewart
Beall said today
Murray T. Shipp. president Of the
Pines Wrecking Co. of Arlington,
told reporters last night he believed
the collapse was caused by enlarg-
ing an opening in q supporting wall
without reinforcing the remaining
wall.
Investigators already have agreed
that the focal point In the. case Is
the wall which once extended 80
feet across the interior of the first
floor and was cut down at various
times.
Remaining Wall Examined.
Mr.. Beall said the board had
examined the remaining wall In the
wreckage and found it had been re-
duced - a five-foot pier. Mr.. Shipp
said he called the boards attention
to the pier when board members
visited the scene Friday.
The inquiry board recessed its
hearings last week pending compile
tion of the clearing work, but Mr..
Beall said the board had learned
enough in its on-the-scene study Of
the collapse to permit resumption
of the hearings Wednesday.
The Commissioners have asked
the board to report on the cause Of
the disaster which cost the lives Of
four persons and injured II others.
The interior of the seven-story
structure at Ninth and New York
avenue NV. crumbled on the night
of December Is.
Contractor to BE Called.
Mr.. Beall said the contractor,
architect and engineer involved in
the last remodeling of the building
in 1916 and last year will be called
Wednesday, along with Nick Papan-
icolos, owner of the building.
The evidence so far, the chairman
said, indicates that the last remod-
cling was mainly "face-lifting" Job
and that no structural changes were
made.
Those involved in the last re-
modelling, Mr.. Beall explained, are
being called simply to complete
the boards picture of the building.
Mr.. Beall said he will question
Mr.. Shipp, although he probably
will not be called as witness.
Backs Theory of Collapse.
The wrecking company president,
who has been in the construction
business for 40 years, said he would
stake my reputation" on the theory
of the cause of the collapse.
At the same time he discounted
testimony before the board that q
crack appeared in part OF the first
floor wall early on December Is. The
wall, he said, was of such soft brick
that it would not give any warn
| ing. If a crack had appeared, he
explained, the structure would have
collapsed a few minutes later.
Mr.. Shipp said that when the
opening in the wall was widened In
1882, steel beams we're placed on
the remaining wall and 1t was used
as a bearing pier. although 1t was
not constructed correctly to serve
as a pier.
The pier. he said, should have
been rebuilt with more durable
materials than the soft bricks"
originally used. He said the pier
was large enough to carry the load
above it if it had been constructed
of the right materials. His investi-
cation, he said, has shown the
weight supported by the pier was
about 56 tons.
Deterioration Reported.
In Mr.. Ships opinion, the pier
gradually deteriorated as the soft
bricks" expanded and contracted
under the load. He said moisture
also seeped in, putting greater pres
sure on the good" brick and
deteriorating that brick, too.
He said he believed water from
upper floors also may have seeped
into the bricks in the pier since
soft brick takes water like .
sponge"
Mr.. Shipp said his study of the
position of materials in the debris
indicated that the pier collapsed
with the section bordering on the
large opening going first, leaving
only SO inches standing.
Mr.. Ships firm was hired by Mr..
Papanicolas, replacing the Arrow
Wrecking Co., which was employed
earlier by the District government
to do the wrecking job. The present
owner bought the building in 1945.