A Soldotna CrossFit gym is raising thousands for a woman who died when the roof collapsed at her South Anchorage gym this weekend.
The Anchorage Daily Newsreported that Turnagain CrossFit was holding a fitness competition Friday evening when the roof collapsed on its building. More than two dozen people were there at the time.
Most people ran outside, the ADN reported, but three were trapped inside and one was found dead in the collapse.
Authorities have not yet publicly identified the person killed. Anonline fundraiser described the woman as a mother of three who had gone to workout that evening with her gym family.
That fundraiser was created by the owner of Kainos CrossFit in Soldotna. It has already raised more than $40 thousand for the woman’s husband.
Brittany Andree, the owner of Kainos CrossFit, says all of Alaska’s 17 CrossFit gyms are part of a community, and that connection inspired her to start the fundraiser. She had friends who were in the building at the time of the collapse and initially started a fundraiser for the gym, which has already met its $50 thousand goal. When she learned someone had died in the collapse, she created a second fundraiser.
Andree says CrossFit gyms have a strong family-like mentality.
“It’s not just a gym, where you come in, put your headphones in, and tune everybody out,” she said. “You come in and everyone knows your kids’ names and your partner’s name. And if a tragedy happens, it’s not just a random member that came to your gym — it’s your family.”
Andree says Kainos CrossFit and the other gyms around the state — as well as some in the Lower 48 — are planning a memorial workout to honor the woman who died. A date hasn’t been set yet for that event.
The cause of the roof collapse remains under investigation. Officials in Anchorage and on the Kenai Peninsula warn heavy snow loads this winter might cause a higher risk of roof collapse on some buildings.
Alaska Public Media’s Tegan Hanlon contributed reporting.
