In Auburn, the roof
of a vacant building that was once used as a sportsplex came down around 5:57
a.m. Tuesday, officials said.
Several buildings
collapsed around the state Tuesday morning, their roofs caving under the weight
of snow that has accumulated through three major storms in recent weeks.
One of the incidents
damaged a building that housed a rhinestone-encrusted grand piano once owned by
Liberace.
Rockland
firefighters arrived at 217 Centre Ave. at 6:30 a.m. to find large portions of
the roof of the Piano Mill caved in, Fire Chief Scott Duffey said. The store,
which sells various musical instruments and offers music lessons, was empty at
the time, Duffey said.
The collapse caused
“thousands upon thousands of dollars’ worth of damage,” Duffey said.
The owner of the
store told the Associated Press the rhinestone-covered grand piano wasn’t
damaged.
Rob Norris said
after an inspection Tuesday that the piano wasn’t located in the section where
the roof caved in. The Liberace piano has 88,888 rhinestones and has been
appraised for $500,000.
The incident comes
just one day after another collapse, which occurred on Weymouth Street in
Rockland Monday morning. About 3½ feet of snow caused the roof of the
commercial building to cave in around 8 a.m., Duffey said. People were inside
the building then, but everyone escaped and there were no injuries, he said.
In Canton, employees
were shoveling snow off the roof of a loading dock building Tuesday morning,
when there was a partial roof collapse, Fire Chief Charles Doody said. Everyone
was able to evacuate the roof immediately and no one was injured, he said.
The collapse was
reported at 7:15 a.m. at 555 Turnpike St. Doody estimated 5 to 6 feet of snow
had been on the roof.
The roof of a vacant
building that was once used as a sportsplex came down around 5:57 a.m. in
Auburn, Fire Chief Stephen Coleman Jr. said. The building at 5 Saint Mark St.
had an arched dome roof with fabric material on the exterior, Coleman said.
A building was also
destroyed in Abington Tuesday morning, Fire Chief John Nuttall said. The
structure at the rear of 171 Brockton Ave. had more than 2 feet of snow on the
roof, he said.
“The building is a
total loss,” Nuttall said.
In Hingham, the roof
on the historic Lincoln Building on South Street collapsed shortly before 10
a.m., fire officials said. No injuries were reported.
As a result, police,
fearing falling debris, cordoned off a one-block area in Hingham’s commercial
district.
“We’ve had a lot of
cancellations today,” said Stacey Tomasello, who works at a skin-care salon
near the damaged building. “Usually, this is a pretty lively place. Not today.”
The three-story
edifice is set to be demolished and replaced.
/___________________________________________________/
HANSON BUILDING COLLAPSES DUE TO SNOW
February 13, 2015
HANSON,
MASSACHUSETTS (CBS) –
A Hanson, Mass.
building collapsed under the weight of snow that had built up on its
roof.
Several hundred feet
of roof collapsed at 775 West Washington Street on Friday morning.
Firefighters
described the building as an older mill-style structure.
No one was inside
the commercial building at the time of the roof collapse.
Crews were on scene
throughout the morning razing the structure.
/______________________________________________/
ROOF COLLAPSE THREAT GROWING, CLOSES SCHOOL DISTRICT
February 10, 2015
WEST NEWBURY (CBS) –
Multiple roofs have already collapsed under the weight of several feet of
snow in Massachusetts, and the growing danger has canceled classes at one
school district for the rest of the week.
Hingham police
responded to a commercial building roof collapse on South Street late
Tuesday morning. The top floor of the building was vacant and no one was
injured.
Six schools in the
Pentucket Regional School District, located in Merrimac, Groveland and West
Newbury, won’t open until after February vacation because of concerns of a
possible roof collapse.
On Tuesday morning,
Rockland firefighters reported a roof collapse at Piano Mill, a piano store on
Center Avenue. A $500,000 grand piano once owned by Liberace may
have been damaged in the collapse.
A trained weather
spotter in Rockland said 29 inches of snow fell during the most recent storm,
according to the National Weather Service.
In Auburn, police
said the roof collapsed Tuesday at Teamworks, an indoor training facility on
St. Mark Street that is not currently in use. No one was inside at the time.
Seven workers were
inside a sheet metal company in Rockland on Monday when the roof came crashing
down, but all escaped injury.
“We heard a noise
like a piece of metal twisting and all of a sudden the whole ceiling came in
like a freight train,” worker Mike Scolaro told WBZ-TV. “It was scary, I won’t
lie to you.”
/_______________________________________________/
NH GAS STATION AWNING COLLAPSES WITH WORKERS
ON TOP
February 12, 2015
12:02 PM
CONWAY, N.H. (CBS) —
Two people were removing snow from atop a Conway gas station awning when it
collapsed Thursday morning, police said.
The contractors were
not injured in the collapse at the Irving gas station off the White Mountain
Highway at 9:45 a.m., according to Conway police.
The awning came
crashing down onto a black Cadillac SUV parked underneath. A man sitting in the
driver’s seat was also not hurt, police said.
The SUV was damaged,
according to WGME-TV.
No other injuries
were reported in the incident.
Police are
investigating the direct cause of the awning collapse.
/______________________________________________________/
FIRE CREWS RESPOND TO ROOF COLLAPSE IN
SEABROOK
No injuries reported
Published 9:35
AM EST Feb 15, 2015
SEABROOK, N.H. —A
major roof collapse was reported at a strip of stores in Seabrook Sunday
morning.
A major roof
collapse was reported at a strip of stores in Seabrook Sunday morning.
Fire crews said the
collapse happened around 8:10 a.m. at the building on Lafayette Road.
No injuries were
reported.
The building
inspector was at the scene soon after the collapse.
It’s believed the
building houses a flooring place, a dollar store and a bar called the Chop Shop
Pub.
More than a foot of
snow fell in Seabrook during the blizzard.
/_________________________________________________/
UNRELENTING
SNOWSTORMS POSE MAJOR ROOF COLLAPSE RISK IN NEW ENGLAND. ICE DAMS CREATE THE HIGHEST RISK FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE.
February 15, 2015
Heavy snow
accumulation is causing roof collapses across New England as back-to-back
storms are burying the region with near-record amounts of snow.
In Rockland,
Massachusetts, a portion of the Piano Mill's roof crumbled into a showroom this
month, coming close to damaging a piano priced at $500,000. However, an even
larger concern is when people are inside.
New England has seen
a highly unusual amount of snow this month, according to AccuWeather.com
Meteorologist Tom Kines, with 2 to 4 feet accumulating in the Boston area,
other parts of Massachusetts and along the eastern New England coast.
"The snow is
not going to be melting any time soon," Meteorologist Stephanie Dunten
told the Associated
Press. "We recommend homeowners scrape any snow off their roofs to
avoid overloading, as we've already seen a few roofs collapsing."
AccuWeather Forensic
Meteorologist Steve Wistar said that for safety reasons home and business
owners should hire contractors to remove the snow or use rakes if the roof is
not too high.
"If the roof is
sagging it has to be handled very carefully because the added weight of people
shoveling the snow could cause a problem," said Anthony Maiocco from
Maiocco Structural Engineering. "And a contractor would have more
experience with safety."
In the Northeast,
roofs are generally designed to support 30 pounds per square foot, Wistar said,
but some roofs are built to support 40, 50 or even 100 pounds per square foot,
according to the ASCE Standard Handbook.
"But 30 pounds
per square foot is just a starting point, then you have to factor in the other
variables," Wistar said.
The amount of snow
accumulation is not always the best guide to determining how much weight snow
is putting on a roof.
Weight of Snow
The inches of snow
accumulation do not directly dictate the weight that is placed on a roof. The
weight of snow is actually dependent on the water content, Wistar said.
One inch of water
weighs 5.2 pounds per square foot, and snow can have different distributions of
water content, which depend on a number of variables including outside
temperature.
Wet snow weighs more
than dry snow because it has a higher water content.
Dry, powdery snow
weighs less and its dusty, flaky texture makes it prone to drifting, which is
ideal for any roof designed for drifting.
But roofs with
external roof units, such as air conditioning or parapet units, are more prone
to uneven weight distribution as the snow drifts against these units instead of
blowing off the roof. When powdery snow is blown in the wind, the snowflakes
break apart and when they resettle they actually become more dense adding to
the weight around rooftop units, Wistar said.
"When snow
weighs 10 pounds per square foot that is okay, but when it starts getting into
the 20s then it can be a concern for a roof," Wistar said.
Over time snow
compacts and settles down, meaning the snow won't be as deep but the weight
will be the same. What was once one foot of snow may become less, but the
weight will not change, Wistar said.
And when
temperatures rise and snowfall turns to rainfall, the snow already coating
rooftops can become saturated and heavy with rain.
When the snow does
begin to melt away, it can refreeze around gutters and drains under lower
temperatures, trapping more melting water on the roof. The trapped water can
not only leak into the home's interior, but it causes further stress on the
roof.
Different roof
designs are built to cope with snow differently, each one with both advantages
and disadvantages.
Sloped Roofs
Gable roofs, which
have two sloping sides, can become problematic in heavy wind conditions, when
snow will blow from one side and settle on the other.
Some slopped roofs,
with enough slope and that are short enough, can allow snow to blow from one
side and then onto the ground.
But slopped roofs
are also prone to ice dams, which can cause interior and roof damage.
No house insulation
is perfect and as heat escapes up through the middle of the roof, it can melt
away the lower layers of the snowpack. As this water migrates away from the
heated center and reaches the cold eaves, or edges, of the house it can quickly
freeze, Wistar said.
Other variables such
as solar radiation and the home's orientation toward sunlight can impact how
prone the house is to ice dams. The snow will melt in the sun but refreeze in
the shade.
An ice dam can cause
damage to the drainage system and gutter as it prevents other water run-off
from escaping. As water is backed up behind the thick dam, it can infiltrate
into the home's interior and keep unwanted weight on top of the roof.
"When you have
an ice dam, you block water from going anywhere and it can sink back under the
roof," said Wister. "And anywhere that water collects and freezes,
the solid ice is going to be heavier."
This heavy ice can
also cause stress and damage to the roof, Wistar said.
A-frame roofs, which
have very steep slopes, speed up water run-off so that it doesn't have the
opportunity to refreeze.
However, these
sloped roofs typically aren't feasible for large industrial buildings,
hospitals or any other large building.
Flat Roofs
While most roofs are
not entirely flat, roofs with a level appearance allow for snow to easily blow
off the roof. However, some of these roofs have external systems on the roof,
including air conditioning and parapet units, which encourage snow drifts to
settle around the unit.
These roofs are also
less prone to ice dam formation, but the draining systems on top of the roof
can freeze over trapping melting water on the roof.
Wistar said that
there really is no ideal roof type to battle winter weather, and it all really
comes down to the type of snow and the amount of wind.
/_____________________________________________/
INSURERS BRACE FOR
CLAIMS AS MORE SNOW EXPECTED TO HIT STORM-WEARY BOSTON. THE MAJORITY OF THESE CLAIMS ARE WATER DAMAGE
FROM ICE DAMS AND, TO A LESSER EXTENT, COLLAPSES
FEBRUARY 15, 2015
Since the first winter storm hit Boston at the end of
January, the city has removed over 10,000 truckloads of snow after a record six
feet of snowfall in the last 30 days — breaking the previous record of 58.5
inches, set in 1978.
Liberty Mutual could not share the number of claims they
received as a result of the winter storms but Glenn Greenberg, director of
media relations at the insurer, said the company assigned dozens of claims adjusters
in the field to assist customers.
Some adjusters came in from other parts of the country to
help expedite the claims process, he said, adding that the insurer had several
more adjusters ready to come to the region should claims volume increase.
“The majority of these claims are water damage from ice dams
and, to a lesser extent, collapses,” said Greenberg.
Boston Public Works Department (PWD) crews have continued to
work around the clock to remove the record amount of snow. According to the
Mayor’s Office, the snowiest month-long period on record has kept the PWD busy
— 244,064 miles of roadway have been plowed in 136,652 hours and 70,051 tons of
salt has been used.
Reportedly, 6,000 of the 10,000 truckloads of snow have been
melted to increase capacity at the city’s snow farms. The Tide Street site has
been melted to 50 percent capacity, while the Reservation Road site is at 10
percent capacity.
The total cost of the snow response to the storms in the last
couple of weeks has been estimated at $30 million. According to the Mayor’s
Office, the city’s annual budget for snow removal is $18.5 million.
Two more storms headed to the region this weekend are
expected to add another foot or more of snow.
Total economic damages and losses as a result of U.S. winter
storms during the month of January, according to Impact Forecasting, Aon
Benfield’s catastrophe modeling division, were estimated at $500 million.
Winter storms caused an estimated $2.3 billion in insured
losses in the U.S. in 2014, up from $1.9 billion in 2013, according to Munich
Re. From 1994 to 2013 winter storms resulted in about $27 billion in U.S.
insured catastrophe losses (in 2013 dollars), or more than $1 billion a year on
average, according to Property Claim Services (PCS) and the Insurance
Information Institute Inc.
Increased Claim Activity
Deland, Gibson Insurance Associates, an independent
insurance agency in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, said the agency has seen a
noticeable uptick in claims.
“We get two or three claims a week on average, and now we’ve
seen 30-plus claims this week so far, so it’s a 10-times increase,” the
agency’s vice president Tom Skelly said Thursday.
Skelly said most of the claims are property damages related
to ice dams. In addition, his agency has also received a couple of claims for
roof collapses due to snow and ice.
“Some people have called us and said, ‘I have a couple of
buckets and the ceiling is dripping water into the buckets slowly, what should
I do?’ And if they can go and break up that ice dam, they probably won’t have
much of a claim,” said Skelly. “Then we have other people that have said, ‘My
whole dining room ceiling has collapsed. I have a big bay window, and water is
rushing in. I am throwing out buckets and buckets of water every couple of
hours.'”
On the higher end, some damages related to ice dams could
cost tens of thousands of dollars, he said, while on the lower end, some
damages won’t cost much at all.
During the past month in Boston, “due to the accumulation of
snow and then a break in the snow, and then more snow, and another break, and
then another storm. We’ve got three major snowstorms of over a foot of snow at
peak and those all contributed to the buildup of ice dams,” said Skelly.
While the majority of these claims are roofs and ice dams,
there have also been a number of fender bender claims, he said. “The roadways
are a lot narrower because of the snow and the snow piles are a lot bigger so
it’s more difficult to see around the corners, so people are getting into
little fender benders as well,” said Skelly.
“The widths of the roadways have narrowed considerably —
there is nowhere to put the snow, so the snow is falling back on the roadways,
which makes the two-lane road a one-lane road,” he said. “And the snowbanks are
quite hard now, so it’s not like if you drive into a snowbank, it’s soft. You
could bounce off of it into oncoming traffic. And we are seeing damages from
people who aren’t taking enough precautions when they are making right or left
turns on the roadway with high snowbanks.”
There is more snow coming, probably another foot in the
Boston area, he noted. “Our recommendation is, clean the gutter systems up and
clean everything up as quickly as you can before this next system goes through.
Clear the snow and ice from the roof. Remove the snow from the roof with a roof
rake, get as much weight off as possible, and let the roof shingles get exposed
to the sun which will help melt the ice as well,” said Skelly.
Kaplansky Insurance Agency, a Needham, Massachusetts-based
independent agency with 11 offices in the region, is also fielding ice
dam-related claims.
“We’ve been getting quite a few claims and claims inquiries
on ice dams — there are quite a few — where water is leaking into people’s
houses. That’s mostly the claims we are getting. We are seeing an increase in
ice dam claims compared to past winters,” said Scott Barudin, vice president of
business development at Kaplansky Insurance.
“A lot more people are calling in for ice dams than the last
winter or the previous one which was kind of a mild winter,” said Barudin.
“Because we’ve had so much snow and cold weather, there is no place for the water
to run. It’s just way too much snow on people’s roofs. There is so much snow on
people’s roofs, and the gutters freeze, and then when it starts to thaw out a
little bit there is no place for water to go so it backs up into people’s
houses.”
“Clean off the roofs, get the snow off your roofs,” Barudin
advised. “I know I’ve seen one house that has like 6 feet of snow on the roof.
That’s a lot of snow. I am hearing more people getting roof rakes to take the
snow off. You gotta be aware of your own house. Keep the gutters clean and get
as much snow off your roof as possible.”
The Arbella Insurance Group, a regional property/casualty
insurance company based in Quincy, Massachusetts, said its claim volume for the
month of February looks to rise significantly compared to a year ago.
“If we look at our February 2015 versus February 2014, we
are on track to be well more than double what we saw in February 2014 from a
claim volume perspective,” said Joe Salerno, vice president of claims at the
Arbella Insurance Group.
“We are seeing a spike in the total claim volume including
an increase in our auto claims as well as a significant increase in our
property claim volume, driven by a high percentage of ice dam claims,” said
Salerno.
Salerno said his company is seeing a high volume of three
types of claims. “The first type — and the most significant that we are seeing
from a frequency perspective — are ice dams,” he said. “We are also seeing a
number of frozen pipe and water damage claims. And then the last that we are
seeing — and fortunately so far in a very small numbers — are roof collapses.”
Salerno said ice dam claims right now easily represent 40 to
50 percent of the new claim volume that the company is seeing. “And we expect
that we will continue to see ice dam claims come through the door at a high
frequency as all of this snow begins to melt,” he said.
THINGS TO REMEMBER:
1.
Do not try to pass an old damage as a new
one; you will get caught. It is rather easy to determine the new vs. old
property damage;
2.
Have receipts readily available for expenses,
repairs, etc. No receipts means no claim
check; this is the rule and very few
exceptions are allowed;
3.
If you do not agree with the insurance company’s
investigation report and findings, feel free to hire your own expert to do the
investigation and prepare your own report.
This is probably the best thing you can do for large claims;
4.
Do have in mind that the insurance company’s
experts are looking for the best interest of the insurer and not yours. Thus, as has amply been documented during the
Superstorm Sandy litigation, the insurance experts will downplay your damages
and either find no damage or very little damage. This is unfortunately the game that is
played. Instead of getting upset, please
do yourself a favor and hire your own expert.