Published on: Wednesday, February 10, 2010

By Mark Brady, PG County Fire/EMS Dept.

Prince George’s County Firefighters have responded to several reports of roof collapses since yesterday.  Some of these collapses involved detached structures, for example; carports and sheds.  On other calls, residents noticed unusual sounds or cracks in walls and firefighters investigated any potential for collapse.  Fortunately, no one has been injured in any of these collapses reported today.

The most serious damage from a roof collapse occurred at the Smithsonian Museum Support Center at 3904 Old Silver Hill Road – “The Garber Facility.” This large warehouse facility is the Smithsonian's primary off-site storage facility of artifacts.  Firefighters responded at 6:49 a.m. to investigate the collapse and shut off electricity and natural gas to the warehouse eliminating any consequences involving those utilities.  The building that sustained damage is warehouse #21 at the Garber Facility.  It is unknown what, if any, artifacts are affected by this roof collapse.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010-Collapse Locations

LOCATION: 1523 BEAVER HEIGHTS LN (EASTERN AV & ADDISON RD)                    

LOCATION COMMENTS: CAP HEIGHTS PG   4:02 AM – front of house

LOCATION: 9612 CROOM RD (KENDALWOOD DR & WALLACE LN)                          

LOCATION COMMENTS: UPPER MARLBORO 5:33 AM carport

LOCATION: 3904 OLD SILVER HILL RD #21 (CEDAR DR & SILVER HILL RD)           

LOCATION COMMENTS: SUITLAND 6:49 warehouse roof

LOCATION: 4028 92ND AV (UTICA PL & HOBART ST)                                 

LOCATION COMMENTS: SPRINGDALE      7:32 AM garage

LOCATION: 9710 GREEN APPLE TN (DORVAL AV & WILLIAMSBURG DR)                   

LOCATION COMMENTS: UPPER MARLBORO 7:32 AM carport

LOCATION: 6913 24TH AV (AMHERST RD & BANNING PL)                              

LOCATION COMMENTS: HYATTSVILLE 7:51 AM sunroom

LOCATION: 15908 LIVINGSTON RD (DYER DR & MANNING RD)                          

LOCATION COMMENTS: ACCOKEEK 7:53 AM shed

LOCATION: 5023 RIVERDALE RD #312 (TAYLOR RD & TANGLEWOOD DR)                  

LOCATION COMMENTS: RIVERDALE/CALVERT PARK APT 7:55 AM investigate crack in wall

LOCATION: 6106 ADDISON RD (CROWN ST & BALTIC ST)                              

LOCATION COMMENTS: SEAT PLEASANT 8:09 AM carport

LOCATION: 841 ST MICHAELS DR (FLORA LN & JESTER CT)                            

LOCATION COMMENTS: MITCHELLVILLE 8:23 AM potential collapse –townhouse

On Tuesday, Feb. 9, firefighters and paramedics responded to seven incidents of a roof collapse.  Again the bulk of these calls involved carports, canopies and citizens requests to investigate potential collapses. One Upper Marlboro home owner sustained injuries when he was thrown 20 feet off of his ladder when his garage collapsed. A small strip shopping center in the Largo area sustained significant damage when the roof collapsed under weight of the snow at around 7:45 p.m. A day care center, an insurance broker and a pizza establishment in the unit block of Kettering Drive were all unoccupied when the collapse occurred and there were no reports of injuries.

Firefighters and paramedics continue to respond to a variety of emergencies logging in 150 calls for service since midnight; almost three times the number of calls handled on a normal day by 10 a.m. Reaching incident locations are still a challenge and residents should understand that Fire/EMS response is difficult under these conditions and our response time will be longer then normal.