Heavy snow collapses entire building

MOTTVILLE, NY -- A storage building in Mottville, NY collapsed at 1:47 this afternoon due to the heavy amount of snow on its roof, according to the The Post-Standard.  

The building was owned by Hubbard Construction Co. at 4225 Railroad Street, Mottville and is the second building to collapse in less than 24 hours due to dense snow.  

West Lake Conservators employee Michael Farrell witnessed the destruction.

"I looked up and I could see that the building next door was moving enough that is caught my visual," he said.

The building seemed to be shifting and slowly settled in on itself, according to Farrell.  A connected building holding offices and a mechanic's bay appear to be intact. No one was in the building.  

Usually at that time of day the building is occupied, according to Mike Baker, assistant chief of the Mottville Fire Department. No cars were in the parking lot when firefighters arrived but rescuers still searched the building. All employees were accounted for and the firefighters were called out, according to Baker.

Baker said the collapse was due to the heavy snowfall.  

"We've gotten a lot of snow and people all over are having a hard time removing snow from their roofs," he said.  "With this warm up, the snow gets heavy real quick."

Firefighters from Mottville, Skaneateles and Marcellus were at the scene.