U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier's chambers have been closed after parts of an HVAC system fell into the third floor room over the weekend. The office is located on the left wing of the rear partition of the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building in downtown Chattanooga.
Joel W. Solomon building and federal courthouseThe last time debris fell from the ceiling of the Joel W. Solomon building, Federal Court Clerk Debbie Poplin said, it rained down on U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier in the middle of proceedings.
It seems Collier narrowly avoided a similar incident this week.
Court officials arrived Monday to find bits of insulation had slipped through two vent covers in Collier's recently-vacated chambers. A pile of debris littered the floor, and soon, a sign warning of possible asbestos exposure hung on the door.
"Fortuitously, Judge Collier had just moved out of these chambers just last week," Judge Harry S. Mattice, Jr. said.
Collier took senior status last month, and Mattice is scheduled to move into his chambers -- a wide office with tall windows, walls of bookcases and plush blue carpet -- in December, after renovations on the room are finished.
At some point this weekend, contractors replacing the building's roof disconnected an air unit, which in turn released duct work in the ceiling and caused some insulation to fall through vents in the ceiling and onto the floor, Poplin said.
Because of the building's age, Poplin said, the U.S. General Services Administration, which maintains the structure, feared asbestos contamination and ordered tests, prompting the placement of the sign.
Officials say they aren't sure when the room will be ready for a new tenant. It's not the first time the 82-year-old building, which also houses a post office, has faced structural problems. Leaks and rodent problems have prompted office moves, and sections have been cordoned off while leaks in the roof were patched up.
A GSA official did not immediately return calls for comment. The GSA put a new federal building in Chattanooga on its five-year construction plan in 1999, and last year the building was listed as number 12 in need of replacement in the country. But it's unlikely that funding for a new building will come through in the next several years.
The mess was mostly cleared up by Monday afternoon. Two small piles of what looked like ceiling material were left on the blue carpet under the vents. Poplin said results of an asbestos test were expected late Monday.
Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at (423) 757-6347 or cwiseman@timesfreepress.com. Follow her on Twitter@clairelwiseman.