manufacturedhomelivingnews.com Manufactured Home Living News
In an emailed statement from Tim Williams, Executive Director of the Ohio Manufactured Homes Association (OMHA) which copied their association attorney, Elizabeth Birth, J.D., Williams said the following in a document under OMHA’s letterhead dated 1.12.2024.
OMHA extends our sincere condolences to the installers and their families in the unfortunate tragedy at Hopewell Estates in Fostoria on January 8, 2024. We also extend our sympathy to the neighbors and friends of the families involved. May God be with the families of the deceased as well as the injured installer.
Tim Williams
Executive Director
Ohio Manufactured Homes Association …”
The inquiry from MHLivingNews/MHProNews was sent on 7:06 AM ET on 1.11.2024. It asked for response to the report linked here. The reply from Williams was sent at 10:33 AM (all times shown are ET, unless otherwise shown).
In a follow up, MHLivingNews said: “Tim, got it and nicely said. The timely reply is respected. We will plan to share it verbatim, crediting you with the remarks on behalf of the OMHA…” “That said, please reply to the following up questions. Please feel free to answer in a separate document, as you just did, or you can type your reply below each of the questions.
Follow up Q1. Have you or anyone else on behalf of the OMHA made a statement about this tragic accident prior to this one?
Follow up Q2: Are you aware of any remarks issued by the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) on this topic? If not, do you think that based on what prior MHI chair Tim Williams said about the good arguments to be made in which “we [i.e.: MHI] should respond to every story…” that they too should respond to this loss of life and serious injury?
Again, please email your response. Thank you.”
In under 15 minutes, Williams replied as follows. “This is a horrible tragedy for the families, and I do not think it serves the families to discuss the deeply personal tragedy in any other context other than our heartfelt sympathy for the families and the installation company owners and co-workers.”
A similar request has been made the Manufactured Housing Institute, directed to MHI’s designated media relations professional, per their website. That is Molly Boyle, CEO & Executive Producer with the Front Porch Media Group International (FPMGI). As of 1:35 PM ET, there has been no response. Note that MHI leaders, several of whom are per informed sources deemed reliable are regular readers of MHProNews and MHProNews’ emailed news updates, have also not directly responded as of this time.
This is a tragedy that also sheds light on the construction industry in general and manufactured housing more specifically. For a more complete look at what Yahoo News called a “Horrific” accident that “crushed” two, killed one and “severely injured” another.
Per local media: “According to officials, a Toledo company was preparing a mobile home for its removal, which is scheduled for Tuesday, when the air jacks failed and two workers were crushed beneath it. One of the workers, a 37-year-old man, was declared dead and the other, a 61-year-old man, was removed and required emergency help.
Toledo Life Flight was contacted for the second man who suffered internal injuries. The Seneca County Coroner’s Office was also contacted to come to the scene,” WVTG stated.
For the video and more details, see the report linked below.
MHLivingNews extends its sincere condolences to all those who have been touched by this serious injury and the tragic loss of life. May the soul of the departed installer rest in peace. ###
That’s a wrap on this installment of “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ### (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHLivingNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Recent and Related Reports:
The text/image boxes below are linked to other reports, which can be accessed by clicking on them.
