Town of Canton Emergency Response Personnel led by Fire Chief and Emergency Preparedness Director, Charles Doody, assisted by other Town Officials including the Board of Selectmen, all continue to coordinate the Town’s comprehensive response to a partial roof collapse which occurred today at the Metropolis Rink, located on Turnpike Street, Canton MA.
Preliminary assessments of the facility indicate approximately (25) twenty - five percent of the building was impacted.
No injuries have been reported, site has been successfully evacuated and its perimeter is now secured and conspicuously posted to ensure the public’s safety. In addition, further safety precautions to establish “around the clock” monitoring of the rink’s exterior are underway.
The rink will be closed until further notice.
March 2, 2015 update
The Town of Canton continues its efforts to investigate the causes and respond, in cooperation with the State of Massachusetts Division of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), to the partial roof collapse of the pitched section located in the rear of the Metropolis Skating Rink, located at 2167 Turnpike Street, Canton MA, which occurred on Saturday, February 28th.
This year’s unprecedented snowfall continues to impact and result in roof collapses at both residential and commercial locations all over the state.
We remain grateful no injuries occurred during this incident and we acknowledge and appreciate the collective efforts of the parents, coaches and children who were inside the facility during the time of incident. They were instrumental in safe building evacuation. Also to be commended, are a variety of other Town, State and Public Utility representatives, including Canton Fire, Police, Recreation/Rink, Building and Public Works personnel, all who were assisted by the State of Massachusetts, acting as building owner via (DCR) representatives, along with Eversource Energy and Columbia Gas. They all deserve both thanks and recognition.
So far, the Town’s investigation has determined that the Town previously undertook, on its own initiative, prior to the rink opening on August 13, 2014, a comprehensive on site, interior roof component (trusses) observation of the rink. That roof review did not indicate any special response was needed prior to the rink opening. The Town continues it’s ongoing (since early February, including February 18th, and prior to this incident) observation and appropriate roof shoveling response where needed, especially focused on flat roofs at all municipal building locations. In this regard, the Town’s approach remains consistent with a DCR rink site visit report conducted and issued by the DCR on Friday, February 27th, a day before the roof collapse. That report indicated the Town should continue with ongoing shoveling. A further facility condition review for this rink is underway, led by the Town Insurance company representatives and with State DCR officials. Our investigation continues and we expect the result of this review to be available this month.
In addition, further steps to secure the building’s exterior are underway including the placement of additional and supplemental fencing. Also, the Town has received information from the Town of Norwood School Department indicating school counselors are being made available to Norwood school age children who may have been in the building during the roof incident. In addition, the Town has taken action to ensure any personal belongings are returned to the appropriate Norwood Youth Hockey Representative on a timely basis.
Canton Officials continue to closely monitor the rink facility and will make additional information available to the public and the press via supplemental posting on its homepage located at www.town.canton.ma.us and may again use the emergency notification system, should it be needed to ensure the public remains informed when any new information becomes available.
