BETHEL -After a month of heavy snow and cold, it was easy to predict that roof collapses would follow the first heavy rain. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported, but a lot of money will have to go into repairs.
In a business park in Bethel at least three businesses have been temporarily closed following a partial roof collapse Wednesday morning. The roof of a building located at 13 Francis J Clarke Cir., collapsed around 12:10 p.m. The industrial park is located off Route 53.
“We had water coming through the ceiling and we knew something was wrong,” said Ed Kim, owner of the Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park. “So, we went next-door and saw that there was some issues with the structure next-door.”
Several years ago, the space that Sky Zone now occupies had a major roof failure. “When they rebuilt it, they went through the building permitting process and had all their plans in place, inspections and third-party inspections,” said Galliford.
The owner of the building, Claris Construction of Newtown, had no one available for comment.
The roof of Mariano Brothers Moving and Storage was having snow cleared this morning when it started to cave in.
“And one gentleman did fall into the building but he just received a couple of cuts and bruises and he’s okay,” said Bethel Fire Marshal Tom Galliford. Essentially, the contractor rode a piece of the building material like a slide down into the warehouse.
There’s no word on when the moving company, a gymnastics facility or Sky Zone will be allowed to re-open.
In Wethersfield, frustrations were beginning to boil over on Wednesday for residents at an apartment complex. Several residents at the complex have reported water leaks stemming from snow on the roof of the apartment buildings.
Erika Wysk is an employee at Fox CT, said that for the last three weeks she has dealt with a leaky roof in her first floor apartment at The Village at Wethersfield apartment complex. Wysk says it started with a stain on the wall, and now it’s non-stop water leaking from her ceiling.
There are others at the complex who’ve also reported similar issues. In Erica’s case she notified the landlord when the problem started, but says nothing much has been done. “Nobody came until Tuesday, then they didn’t do anything. They just put mats out on the ground,” Wysk said.
According to state law, landlords need to provide safe living quarters for their tenants, which, depending on the town, could mean correctly repairing floors, ceilings and walls. Central Connecticut Health District Director Charles Brown recommends renters contact their local health department when facing damage, especially damage that could involve water leaks, which often turns into mold and creates a public health hazard.
“There’s responsibilities when you own a property and you’re actually renting it out and we are able to legal issues for them to comply with the public health code,” Brown said.
In Greenwich early Wedneaday morning, two vehicles were crushed beneath a garage that collapsed under the heavy weight of snow. No injuries were reported there.
