MEDICINE HAT, AB — Firefighters responded to a roof collapse at a Brier Park business Tuesday morning.
The collapse happened around 9 a.m at System 1 Pro Flow on 10 Avenue NW.
Martin Schile, the owner of System 1, was the only person inside the building at the time of the collapse.
“They were up working on the roof, repairing, and after a loud bang, I turned around and a good portion of the roof collapsed,” said Schile.
“Three of the steel tresses came down, causing damage to the wall, and now we’re just inspecting and trying to determine the exact damage of the building.”
Schile, whose shop has three employees, says another person had just passed through the building before the collapse happened, but nobody was injured.
“For the amount of people that were passing underneath the area that came down, we’re more than blessed that it’s only structural damage and no bodily injury whatsoever,” he said.
The building initially sustained damage during the October wind storm, said Schile, after the roof of a neighbouring building blew onto System 1. The total estimated damage was $112,000, and crews had just started repairs this week.
The building is closed until city inspectors rule it’s safe to open.
“This could be a very extended time, determining on the wall damage to the type of repair but it’s considerable as the steel tresses, three of them, got bent up and are down so it’s a major repair,” said Schile.
Platoon Chief Joe Greenan with the Medicine Hat Fire Department says the cause of the collapse is still under investigation. A neighbouring building was also briefly evacuated, but city inspectors determined it was safe to re-enter.
