Editorial: The roof of Northtown’s municipal equipment‐storage building collapsed under the weight of last week’s heavy snowfall. The building was constructed recently and met local building‐safety codes in every particular, except that the nails used for attaching roof supports to the building’s columns were of a smaller size than the codes specify for this purpose. Clearly, this collapse exemplifies how even a single, apparently insignificant departure from safety standards can have severe consequences.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the editorial’s argument?