Part of the Old McCormack’s Auto Centre on Church Street came tumbling down Thursday afternoon.
Parry Sound Fire Chief Dave Thompson says there were no injuries reported after the front third portion of the building collapsed because of snow buildup on the roof.
“Police fire and EMS did attend, the building owner arranged to have a structural engineer attend the site and they put a plan in place to shore the building up which they have been working on overnight to make the building safe,” he says.
Thompson says in the meantime the sidewalk on Cascade Street between Burd and Church Street is closed. He says anyone who has a low-sloped roof or one that is particularly weak, needs to consider getting the snow removed off it, especially when the region has these mild conditions. Thompson says as the snow melts, it gets a lot of weight from the moisture and rain and creates a higher possibility of roof failures.
According to him, the building was in the early process of renovation, so there was already some work going on inside the building, but he confirmed the snow load was the obvious cause.