The Air Force will launch a department-wide series of inspections of buildings across the Air Force and Space Force in the wake of an investigation into the death of a 14-year-old boy at Robins Air Force Base Ga., last summer.
Air Force Materiel Command’s investigation blamed the death on the collapse of a 3,300-pound concrete masonry wall, which caved in on the men’s side of a bathhouse at a pool on Robins Air Force Base. Inspectors concluded that the builder ignored basic building code requirements and that the wall was built without “rebar anchors connecting the base of the [wall] to the floor or vertical supports attaching the sides of the [wall] to the floor and/or ceiling.”
When the wall collapsed, it killed Gabriel Stone, 14, and left another child with five broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a cut above the eye.
An analysis of the incident showed as little as 105 pounds of external force could be enough to cause the wall to collapse.
The day of the incident, according to local TV station WMGT, three children were in the bathhouse during an “adult swim” period, and some of the children climbed the wall to retrieve an item that had become stuck, but Air Force investigators said “witness testimonies vary” about what precipitated the collapse.
Regardless of that detail, what is clear that the wall began to shift, and several of the teens attempted to hold the wall up as another child entered the bathhouse. The wall was too heavy, however, and collapsed, trapping Stone under its weight and another child who managed to survive under a bench that was attached to the wall.
Lifeguards and first responders administered CPR and used an automated external defibrillator to try to revive Stone, who was transported to a local hospital and later declared dead from blunt force trauma to the head.
Investigators noted that the bathhouse had undergone numerous inspections by the facility manager, supervisor, the base safety office, and public health officials, none of which ever cited issues with the bathhouse wall. But they did find a maintenance request from June 2018 to address an “unstable [concrete masonry unit] block wall in the women’s side of the bathhouse.” No such concerns were lodged about the similar partition wall on the men’s side.
Investigators said the architect “did not follow the code requirements of the Standard Building Code, 1965 Edition,” when the bathhouse was built. The results answer the Stone family’s concerns, raised after the incident, and suggest that other military bases could have similar problems.
Rod Edmond, one of the attorneys investigating the incident on behalf of the Stone family, questioned the construction quality soon after the incident. “Was it properly inspected? What notice was there that the … cinderblock wall that crushed this young man was unstable?” said Edmond, according to The Telegraph (Macon, Ga.). “There’s a real possibility that there are other facilities that have walls that are unstable, that weigh thousands of pounds and could kill people.”
Spokespeople for Air Force Materiel Command and the Department of the Air Force said the Department is now examining that possibility.
“The Department of the Air Force is initiating a review of all similarly constructed walls across all installations and is developing an action plan that accounts for findings from the Ground Accident Investigation Board report,” an official said. “Those inspection guidelines are expected within approximately the next 30 days.”
Added another official: “Within Air Force Materiel Command, a complete facility inspection was initiated to look for similar, unsupported walls. The command is evaluating the data and will determine what appropriate action is required.”
Numerous Air Force bases around the world have pools. It is clear how many, if any, utilized the same bathhouse design as the one at Robins.