Snowden fire station roof collapses amid snowstorm

Contractor Dana Hale with Hood River-based Hale Construction — which is overseeing the $3.1 million bond project that is funding renovations to both the Snowden and Husum stations — told district officials during a Friday emergency board meeting that the structure is unsafe.

Out of a preliminary observation, officials labeled the event a lean-to collapse, which occurs when the roof or floor supports fail on one side of the structure, and the opposite side of the floor or roof is still connected to the wall.

The roofing material fell onto a reserve fire engine, Fire Chief Wesley Long said, sustaining damage to the vehicle, although currently officials are not certain of the extent of the damage. Long said the event is estimated to have occurred past midnight in the morning of Thursday, Jan. 6.

That the station’s repairs were funded by a capital improvement bond will add a layer of complexity to the damage mitigation process, at least administratively.

On the ground, the situation is even more challenging as district officials expressed concern over the collapse causing secondary damage as it could let in more water as the snow thaws.

This spurred a lengthy discussion on how to mitigate the damage caused by the collapse.

At Friday’s meeting, commissioners approved two motions: one which declares an emergency for the district, and another which establishes a structure assigning officials to roles in the disaster mitigation process.

Long and project manager Robert Merritt will serve as points of contact for everybody involved in the process, while an engineering team, including architect Jeff Dellis, will consult the board on the recovery.

Merritt recommended the board take the time to coordinately purposefully, instead of looking to repair the damage right off the bat, given the complex nature of the project.

“I, as the project manager and a fire chief for 25 years and having built over a dozen fire stations, would [encourage] the board to remember that this is your facility, and this is your project,” Merritt said. “Ultimately, all of the decisions really need to be made by you, with your full knowledge, and that will have elements in particular from your insurance carrier, and your appraiser, and your adjuster and so on and so forth, that we’ll want to coordinate with.”

The emergency declaration lets commissioners use local resources without going through the government bidding process for goods and services as is typically required for most state and federal assistance funding.

With more conversations expected to occur Friday and through the weekend, Merritt will be drafting a plan to move forward with the project to be presented at a future meeting, currently unscheduled.

Time is of the essence for this project, as Edward Lazkaris, representative with Belfor Property Restoration, warned commissioners that an insurance adjuster may take over two weeks to visit the site, adding another piece to the puzzle.

Cost estimates have not yet been revealed.