New questions over why crane fell during Hurricane Milton
St. Petersburg, Fla. - Hurricane Milton brought unprecedented winds to Pinellas County, leading to the collapse of a crane during the storm in Downtown St. Petersburg.
New questions about why the state does not govern crane safety before hurricanes make landfall are being raised.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said there was not enough time to take down the cranes in Downtown St. Petersburg as Hurricane Milton moved towards the Bay Area.
"There is just no way in this window of time to bring those cranes down," said Welch.
Hurricane Milton's winds blew down a crane at 400 Central that had been expected to handle gusts of up to 120MPH.
The cranes that caused hazards during Hurricane Milton in the St. Pete skyline.
Former State Rep. Michael Bennett (R-Sarasota) said that the crane falling could have been prevented.
"It hurts because it could have been prevented," said Bennett.
Bennett worked on a crane safety bill in 2012, which would have required construction workers to better secure cranes with counterweights and fastenings.
He also says there could have been requirements to lower cranes if certain windspeeds were predicted.
"We really felt the State of Florida needed to have some regulation on these cranes," said Bennett.
The bill was never passed, with legislators banning local governments from enacting their own rules instead.
Governor Ron DeSantis, standing near the crane wreckage in downtown St. Pete, which crashed into an office building, left it to the crane operators themselves.
"I think the question is, should there be more regulation, or should just be more common sense?" DeSantis said. "I mean, do we have to regulate everything? I think most people take the cranes down."
READ MORE: 'This is truly unprecedented': Withlacoochee River continues to flood out communities
Former State Sen. Jeff Brandes, who represented St. Pete, argues today that there should be a statewide code but admits that even that would have limitations, given that landfall predictions seldom can be made more than a week in advance.
"In many of these cases, if the cranes are up so high, you know, it's 30 or 40 stories, it might not be possible to take it down in 3 or 4 days," said Brandes.
The company that built the crane, Liberty Companies of Boston, said to Fox 13 in a statement:
Right now, it appears Liberty is conducting the only official investigation into the accident. Liberty said it was working with local officials to assess the situation.
STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:
- Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV
- Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines
- Download the SkyTower Radar app
- Sign up for FOX 13’s daily newsletter