Building ruptures, thousands of bushels of corn spill into street
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UNION CITY, Tenn. — Thousands of bushels of corn spilled into the street Tuesday morning after the building holding the corn ruptured. It happened at Anderson’s Grain late in the morning, and people who live nearby said the noise was extremely loud. “At first, I thought it was a tornado,” neighbor Brittney Boyer said. “It was really, really loud.” Boyer said she heard noises coming from the building overnight. “We were just sitting here drinking coffee, and next thing you know, I mean it was really, really loud,” Boyer said. “You could feel the vibration in your chest.” Ricky Ware lives directly across from the building and said he also started hearing strange sounds Monday night, “like crackin’ you know, real loud, ‘pop’, you know, ‘bang!'” Many believe it was just a matter of time before the building gave way. “We walked by a few days ago and seen that there was like a big bulge,” Boyer said. Ashley Moore lives around the corner and said a support wall was being built on the side of the collapse. “They were telling us when we asked them why they were building that wall, what they were putting it there for, they said it was for if that wall falls,” Moore said. A spokeswoman for the parent company based in Ohio said by phone they believe this happened because of a structure failure but are investigating. She told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News the building can hold around 800,000 bushels of corn. She also said a cleanup plan for the corn is in the works, however metal experts were called in to clear away damage to the building. “We just got called in, a grain bin blew out the back, and we got called to cut the steel and stuff down so they can get ready for a cleanup,” metal building supervisor John Kennedy said. Anderson’s Incorporated said even with the rain Tuesday all the corn can be reclaimed after being put through dryers. The company said they do not believe the quality will be affected. No injuries were reported.
