Downtown Business Building Collapses from Heavy Snow on Roof
The roof at Fran’s Second Hand, located at 601 West Alder collapsed due to the heavy snow on the roof late Monday afternoon, totally destroying the building.
Missoula City Fire Chief Jeff Brandt has details.
“We got a call, I believe from the building owner this afternoon about an impending collapse,” said Chief Brandt. “Our battalion chief and crew responded over to the area to assess the situation. They called the City Building Inspector and they called Northwestern Energy to shut down the power to the building, and while they were on scene the building collapsed right in front of them.”
Brandt said thanks to the quick action by fire and city officials, no one was inside the building when it collapsed.
“There was not anybody inside or anybody in and around because the fire crews had taped off the area to keep people away, and everything worked out the way they should have,” he said. “The building collapsed there on the sidewalk, so there’s quite a bit of mess to clean up, so I’m sure we’ll be working together with city officials to get the right of way opened up and try to mitigate that situation.”
There was no immediate estimate of damage other than to say the building was a total loss.