Posted on 07/07/2026 5:07:41 AM PDT by Red Badger
VIDEOS AT LINK...............
Screencap of Twitter/X video. The roof of a BJ’s store in New Jersey collapsed this morning, apparently due to severe weather.
Although some shoppers ended up trapped in the structure for a while as emergency crews responded, miraculously, no one was hurt in the accident.
Imagine you’re just shopping at BJ’s, browsing the products you might buy and the next instant, the roof is falling in on you. It’s crazy.
FOX News has more details:
A large emergency response was triggered in Monmouth County, New Jersey, on Monday after a partial roof collapse at a local BJ’s Wholesale Club trapped multiple people inside during a wave of severe weather.
Just after 11:15 a.m. local time, emergency personnel rushed to the BJ’s Wholesale Club on Route 35 in Ocean Township following reports of the collapse, according to a statement from the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.
Shocking video appeared to show unsuspecting shoppers looking at grocery items seconds before the roof collapsed, sending a large amount of water gushing into the business.
Authorities confirmed 27 people were inside the building at the time of the incident, though no injuries were reported.
Two people were partially entrapped in the debris but managed to free themselves and safely escape the building.
Emergency teams deployed specialized rescue units to ensure the building was clear, conducting primary and secondary searches, according to the sheriff’s office.
Watch the video below. There is no audio:
This video shows some of the aftermath.
This is a drone shot from above the building.
It just goes to show, you always need to keep your wits about you.
You never know when you could find yourself in a situation like this one.
I've witnessed them broken up close. The pipe appeared to have some sort of anti-corrosive agent in it which looked like perlite. It mixed with a burst of brown water, and then clear water flowed very quickly due to the volume and pressure.
In addition to the volume and force from pressure, what also stood out was how loud it howled.
“Rounded to an odd number for evenness?”
Sure, if you use the fractional equivalent of 8-1/3# per gallon. Thus, every 3 = 25#.
At 8.33, GPM x Delta-T x 500 = BTU/Hr.
At 8.34, you’re at a little more over 500. It’s good either way, you’re rarely doing something for which you need more than 2-3 significant digits.
Liferafts.
That idea has a Lot of merit. It does have an 'afterlife' kind of look to it.
I’ll bet that that is the real cause of the collapse. They’re gonna blame it on the “weather”, but the insurance investigator gets the final say.
“CLEANUP IN AISLES 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8……..!”
That’s just the thing with the Internet. Floods, fires, runaway emus.. any little local event could end up with millions of onlookers.
It’s all a wash.
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(Groan....)
At 8.33, GPM x Delta-T x 500 = BTU/Hr.
At 8.34, you’re at a little more over 500. It’s good either way, you’re rarely doing something for which you need more than 2-3 significant digits.
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Hah!! You Get It!!!!
Nobody cares past the third digit for most things - it’s not important, and you can’t measure that close anyway for most things.
Power measurements - Used to watch the fools at work write down all 8 digits on the calculator display. You CAN”T prove it.
Radar - Power out = 536,834 watts. Wrong, Stupid - you can’t prove it, even in a lab. Put down 537,000 watts, or anybody with a little sense will place you in the idjit category, forever to be ignored.
Used to really aggravate me.
I’ll bet that that is the real cause of the collapse.
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That might well be the case.... the original design would have had some safety margin and if more weight is added, that margin is reduced. Was there still enough? There might have been but perhaps the original amount of the margin was already less than what they thought or had already been reduced due to the weight of an AC unit that wasn’t part of the original design... or the amount of water that it ultimately carried. One other possibility.... on flat roofs, I believe the old roof is taken off when the roof is replaced. Is there a possibility that if there was a new roof put on at some point, it just went on over an old roof? There are endless possibilities and one wonders what was all figured in for the original structural calculations. I know I don’t want to be walking into flat roof buildings wondering about how much sag there is in a roof due to additional load it is carrying... because once there is a bit of a sag, that is just an invitation for water to accumulate and the problem cascades from there....the more it accumulates, the more it sags.
I see that one of the Gateway Pundit commenters added a smart comment... It isn’t just the static load of the panels but the potential for a significant dynamic load if they are tipped up. The pictures appear to showing them laying flat so that doesn’t appear to be an issue in this case but it sure seems like it could be for plenty of other cases that are out there.
It would seem to me the contents of the store will be a total loss. Maybe they can donate stuff like cloths to charity. Flooring, shelving, and refrigeration units will all need to be replaced.
You bet. Just like the NYC high rise with the buckling floor.
I’ll bet that that is the real cause of the collapse....
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I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before but now that I’ve taken a closer look at the first two pictures in Post 15, it seems obviously apparent that the amount of water on the roof during a heavy downpour is going to go up significantly because of the panels... the spacing between the panels means that both the roof and the panels will have water on them.... the additional coating of water on the panels is not likely that significant in terms of additional dead load. However, all the structural support and hardware that goes under the panels will impede the water as it is trying to flow off.... and that likely is very significant.
One can wonders how much of the original design margin was cut into by the weight of the panels... but they didn’t bother to check to see how much additional weight would be on the roof due to water not being able to drain off as fast as it used to....
Very good observation. I wonder if their corporate offices are pooping their pants. Seems like several on their stores have a similar design with roof top solar panels.
I wonder if their corporate offices are pooping their pants. Seems like several on their stores have a similar design with roof top solar panels.
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A few comments… First it would have to be established as to who owns the building. Does BJ’s own it or is it leased? Or do they have a separate real estate arm or are they operating it under some type of ground lease structure? I doubt they own it outright……
As for the panels, it seems that there are companies who look for building roof space that they can lease and then the ‘host’ gets a slice plus the glory of doing something that has gone green. Or in many cases (similar to BJ’s), the solar system is owned by a third part solar developer…. The building owner provides the roof space and then buys electricity under a long-term power purchase agreement.
For the above case, if the building owner could prove that the solar panels caused the failure, they could attempt to terminate the contract for other stores and tell the supplier to remove the panels and put the roof back to its original condition. However, depending on the wording in the contract, it may be that onus was on the building owner to provide a roof with sufficient integrity….
Lots of stuff for the lawyers to sort through.
What? They didn't clutch their neck and shoulder bones, grimace, limp and demand their lawyer?
A web search suggests they own a majority of their land, stores and distribution centers.
Ditto lawyer stuff.
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