Portion of Palmer Public Library roof collapses

PALMER — A portion of the roof of the Palmer Public Library collapsed early Wednesday evening.

The Palmer Fire Department received the report at about 5:45 p.m. that a piece of the library’s roof had caved in, and there were potentially people inside of the building.

“There were people inside when it collapsed,” Palmer Fire and Rescue Chief Chad Cameron said at the scene. “They were able to evacuate the building. No injuries reported at this time.”

Cameron said there were about five people inside the library, including a family visiting the facility and an employee.

The portion of the roof that collapsed is at the front of the building. Cameron said it is in the area of the children’s section.

“Right now it’s the assumption it’s the snow and ice load from all of the snow we’ve had this year,” Cameron said of the potential cause of the collapse. “We don’t have anything 100 percent definitive.”

Cameron said the sprinklers did go off inside of the building following the collapse. Part of the pipe system for the sprinklers is on the roof, and pipes were broken during the collapse. Cameron said they are unsure of the extent of the damage inside, including damage to the books.

Right now, Cameron said they are concerned about additional sections of the roof collapsing.

“We are really limited to who can go and where they can go inside,” Cameron said. “We’re just trying to button up and secure the building/”

Cameron said a next step is to bring in a structural engineer to access the damage.

“Have them say what’s OK, what’s not before we can do anything else,” Cameron said.

This is a developing story. Continue to see frontiersman.com for more.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz att editor@frontiersman.com.