Gas bar canopy in Rustico crashes down during wind storm

A family run business was cleaning up Thursday in the wake of high winds.

The canopy that once stood over the gas bar at Gallant's store in Rustico, P.E.I., toppled over during a storm Wednesday evening.

"Everybody was gone for the evening except for myself," said owner Keith Gallant. "It was pretty surreal ... it was just shaking, started to sway violently and then she just came down real quick and with a loud bang."

Nobody was hurt in the mishap. The gas pumps themselves were undamaged, according to Gallant, and after being inspected Thursday morning, were back in use.

The steel posts that hold the canopy appeared to have buckled at ground level, according to Gallant. He estimates the posts and canopy were installed 15 years ago or more.

"It was windy, yeah. It was just at that particular point there was a big gust of wind swung around and she caught it and that was it. It was history."

Gallant wants to get a crane on-site to move the canopy out of the way. Engineers and insurance adjusters will examine the structure to try to determine what happened, and how to make repairs.

Gallant's store has operated on the corner of routes 6 and 243 in Rustico for generations.

"It better be a one time only," said Gallant. "Something you don't want to see, that's for sure."

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