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BRIDGETON, NJ – December 26, 2009 turned out to be a busy day for Bridgeton firefighters apparently brought about by inclement weather.

With snow still remaining from the previous weekend storm, over 2.5 inches of rain made its way into the area along with high winds.

Firefighters had already responded to a commercial property with water leaking into the building and onto electrical equipment. They would also later respond to a dwelling with a collapse of a foundation damaging a natural gas meter.

However, at 12:33 p.m. they received a call of a roof collapse at the Bank of America at the intersection of Laurel and Commerce Streets that would put 39 firefighters to work for over 8 hours. The building is 3 stories, of heavy timber construction with a slate roof and was built in 1886.

Crews arrived on the scene and Captain Kevin Scarlato entered the building to check the situation. He found an area of about 30 to 40 feet of collapsed roof and water and snow that had traveled down to the first floor. The parapet wall directly above the main entrance was partially pushed away from the building. (Roofers had responded to the scene earlier in the day but the work involved was beyond their capability.) The immediate area around the building was cordoned off. Chief Dave Schoch was notified and responded to the scene and assumed command.

Chief Schoch, working with various representatives tried to procure a construction company to immediately address the situation. However, the construction company could not respond soon enough. Not knowing if there would be further collapse which would endanger an attached commercial structure on the D side and a nearby commercial structure on the C side Chief Schoch decided to have the County Tactical Rescue Team respond to shore up the roof and mitigate any further damage to the bank as well as the exposures.

Firefighters from the Vineland and Millville fire departments (the remaining 2 cities that are part of the team) responded to the scene and began preparing to shore up the roof.

A truck from a local lumber company brought various sizes of wood to the scene. This was a result of a previous agreement with the fire department to provide service in just such an incident.

Firefighters worked until 7:49 to stabilize the roof at which time the situation was placed under control. They remained on the scene until 8:30.

The Hopewell-Stow Creek Fire Company (Station 21) was brought in to cover Bridgeton’s station - answering several calls while covering - and also for its light unit. . The Belleplain Fire Company (Cape May County Station 22) responded to the scene with its rehab unit. The Salvation Army was on-scene with its canteen to provide refreshments for the crews.

No injuries were reported.

The cause and contributing factors of the collapse will be determined by a structural engineer.