Roof collapses at Cape and Islands Tire in Wareham

No injuries reported by Onset Fire officials
Mar 4, 2015

The roof of one of three adjoined buildings at Cape and Islands Tire at 3057 Cranberry Highway in East Wareham collapsed early Wednesday morning.

No injuries were reported.

According to Captain Howard Andersen of the Onset Fire Department, a crew was in a neighboring area for a call for a gas leak at approximately 4:15 a.m. when fire personnel noticed insulation on the ground outside of the business.

Upon further inspection, they noticed damage to the front wall of the middle building.

"We weren't sure if it was a gas explosion or a collapse," said Andersen, noting that after conducting an investigation, there was in fact a roof collapse. "The collapse caused a gas leak in the building."

Andersen said they determined that the snow load on the roof had caused the collapse.

Part of Cranberry Highway was closed for precautionary measures for approximately an hour early Wednesday morning.

Members of the Onset Fire Department, the Wareham Fire Department, the Bourne Fire Department, and the Plymouth County Technical Rescue Team were on site to assist with the building inspection. Andersen said that Bourne's ladder truck was used to get an aerial view of the building.

He said a Wareham building inspector condemned the building until further notice, meaning the building would be closed until a structural engineer inspects the building to determine the next course of action.