Deck collapses; girl pinned
George and Tina Noble got the scare of a lifetime Thursday when the deck on their five-year-old home collapsed, pinning their daughter under an avalanche of snow and ice.
George Noble said the deck came apart from his house immediately after his 12-year-old daughter, Alexie, walked out the back door onto its surface.
The deck had about two feet of snow and ice on it after several recent storms.
Noble said the family heard strange creaking noises and his daughter and wife were going to try to push some of the icy snow over the side of their deck.
The load of snow and ice, and a nearby barbecue, slid on top of Alexie as the deck crashed to the ground. The debris pinned the 12-year-old against the side of the house, but she managed to avoid serious injury.
Police, firefighters and paramedics worked quickly to free the girl after responding to the home on Hopton Lane, which is off Hanwell Road.
Fredericton Fire Department platoon Capt. Peter McMurtrie said Alexie was lucky.
"It turned out better than it sounded initially," he said.
McMurtrie said firefighters helped move the barbecue and chunks of icy snow off the teenager and secure the collapsed deck from moving any further.
Noble said he's thankful Alexie made it through the scare without sustaining more serious injuries.
"She's doing fine," he said.
"She can move her toes and her ankle, so that's a good sign."
Tina Noble said doctors told her that her daughter escaped the incident with only bumps and bruises.
"She's going to be OK," she said. "She's just got a lot of deep bruising. It was extremely frightening. She's one lucky little girl."
The incident coincides with school closures in Quebec in the wake of several recent roof collapses. Quebec school officials say they took those precautions in light of the deep snow piled on the roofs of the facilities.
Last week, several factory roofs in Quebec caved in and killed workers inside.
In an earlier interview, Environment Canada meteorologist Claude Cote said snow absorbs water like a sponge at this time of year.
"Water weighs 62 lbs (27.9 kilograms) per cubic foot (.03 cubic metres)," he said. "A square foot (.09 square metres) of dry snow weighs 12 lbs (5.4 kilograms)."
He said 1.5 feet (.45 metres) of dry snow on top of six inches (15.24 centimetres) of ice weighs 39 pounds (17.55 kilograms) per square foot (.09 square metres).
George Noble said homeowners should be extra vigilant about clearing their decks and roofs.
"They should keep their decks cleaned off," he said.
"When you get this much snow and freezing rain on top of it, you beat yourself pretty near to death trying to get it off. But you know it's got to be done."
With files from reporter Richard Duplain.
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