Gateway Fred Meyer Store's Roof Partially Collapses (PHOTOS)

Portland Fire & Rescue responds to two separate commercial partial collapse‏s.

Photos courtesy: Kim Kosmas/Portland Fire

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Portland Firefighters responded to an early Saturday morning call for a partially collapsed roof at the Gateway Fred Meyer Store, located at 1111 NE 102nd Ave. The call was received at 7:00 AM, and crews arrived on scene shortly after receiving the call, Kim Kosmas with Portland Fire said.

Investigators at the scene discovered that a 30' x 30' section of roof had collapsed in the west end of the building.

"Due to the heavy accumulations of snow, mixed with all of the rain, there was nowhere for the water to go because the drains were blocked by the snow. This, in turn, caused a swimming pool effect on the roof," Kosmas said.

"Fortunately when the collapse happened only a few employees were in the store. Everyone was able to escape without any injuries".

Kosmas reports that fire personnel worked with NW Natural, Pacific Power and the Water Bureau to secure the utilities for the building.

"A sprinkler riser pipe was also broken in the collapse which added insult to injury with additional water pouring into the structure," Kosmas added.

"There was a concern of a possible secondary collapse occurring, so crews closely monitored the structure until control of the scene was given back to the building owners and structural engineers."

Fred Meyer was not the only place where the snow weighted dangerously heavy.

Firefighters also responded to a partial collapse reported at the West Coast Paper Company located at 16705 NE Mason Street. That call came in at 7:08 AM, Kosmas said.

"There were no employees in the building at the time of the event. The area of roof failure for this building was a 40' x 40' section over the warehouse. Fire fighters assisted with securing the utilities and clearing the drains to prevent any potential of a secondary collapse."

Kosmas says it is important to remember to check all gutters and downspouts after a large accumulation of snow to be sure everything is able to drain properly.

"This holds true for any structure with a flat roof. If at any time there is question of the stability, due to creaking sounds, etc. exit the building and call 911 immediately."

The loss to the structure and contents of both buildings remains undetermined at this time.