GTBANK Umuahia branch

Client: GT BANK

Project Duration: February 2002

Narration:
Engineering Safety Investigation conducted on the two (2) level bank building, sequel to a fire outbreak over a section of the first floor; this fire lasted long enough to have gutted out a huge portion of the roof trusses, covering, and ceiling.

Report of the investigation concluded that:

• The overall structural safety of the bank building has not been impaired, although specific structural elements exposed to extreme heat long enough had suffered loss of strength
• Column at grid point 6/E on the first floor must be hacked out and reconstructed
• Likewise, Roof beam 10 and the Cover slab must be hacked out and reconstructed, hence their strengths have been compromised by the prolonged exposure to the heat of the fire
• All partition walls around the immediate zone of the fire, that have been pulverized by the heat, must be demolished and rebuilt
• The exposed reinforcement to Roof beam -4 must be carefully dressed with waterproofed cement/sand mortar