UPDATE Haiti rescuers become victims of collapse. Fairfax County fire station in Bailey's Crossroads buckles under snow. Second firehouse in danger.
Click here for new pictures from inside the firehouse
For the people who go all around the world helping others when their buildings collapse due to natural disasters, this one couldn’t have been any closer to home. Overnight there was a collapse of the roof over the equipment bay at Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department Station 410. Now, there is a roof problem at a neighboring firehouse. Firefighters report sagging in the roof at Station 408 in Annandale, about three miles south on Columbia Pike.
Dan Schmidt, spokesperson for Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, says 18 firefighters were in the bunk room of Station 410 located in the 3600 block of Firehouse Lane when they heard a loud noise coming from the bay area around 3:00 a.m. Schmidt says the firefighters discovered the flat roof over all four bay areas collapsed under the weight of this weekend’s heavy snowfall.
There were no injuries.
Schmidt says a good portion of the roof is now sitting on top of the ladder truck and the engine. A full evaluation of the damage has not been made, but the damage at Station 410 is extensive.
After the collapse at Station 410 Schmidt says an alert went out to firefighters to do an evaluation of flat roofs at other fire stations. That’s when sagging was noticed at Station 408 in Annandale.
Officials say there is a two to five inch deflection in the center portion of the roof at that station. For now crews are running out of the newer bingo hall at the firehouse.
