Snow collapsed the roof of a large garage along Fourth Avenue in Arnold early Thursday, briefly trapping an elderly neighbor in his house next door but causing no injuries.
The roof collapse, at about 2 a.m., pushed out the garage's block wall. The wall, still more or less in one piece, fell and remained leaning against Andrew Pryor's house next door.
There was no sign of fire or explosion, but don't tell that to Pryor, 86.
"It sounded like an explosion to me," said Pryor, who has lived in the two-story house at 1365 Fourth Ave. at least 20 years.
Pryor said he was rocked awake by the sound at about 2 a.m. He wasn't hurt, but his nerves were frayed.
"It was the loudest sound that I ever heard," he said. "And I couldn't open the door."
Firefighters were able to force open the front door to free Pryor.
The 120-by-40-foot garage is owned by Jim Elias. His auto repair shop remained open a few doors away along Fourth Avenue.
"It was a collapse due to snow," Elias said, shaking his head.
Elias said the garage was at least 60 years old.
There was one car inside the leveled building, which apparently was used for storage.
There is no evidence of fire or explosion, said Arnold fire Chief J.C. Tedorski.
The gas company shut off natural gas valves and checked the ground for ruptured lines, Tedorski said. They found no damage, the chief said.
Elias said the building did not have natural gas service.
Tedorski said the collapse caused the largest debris field that he has seen in many years of fighting fires.
He said he had never seen such oak beams snapped like twigs, mangled brick and ceramic shards that were tossed 30 feet.
Arnold City Clerk Oscar Doutt said the garage once housed trucks for the long-defunct Meadow Gold Dairy.
Pryor said he wasn't harmed but remained startled yesterday afternoon while waiting for an insurance adjuster.
Pryor said he wasn't sure where he would be spending the night or when repairs would be made to his house.
The collapse is one of several that have occurred across the region in recent days as roofs have given way under the weight of heavy ice and snow. On Sunday, more than 100 people were evacuated from Rostraver Ice Garden shortly before a large section of roof fell in at the popular recreational complex along Route 51.
On Wednesday a roof collapsed on a building used for storage in Greensburg. Other incidents have occurred at a Fayette County lumber operation in Melcroft, Saltlick Township; a horse barn in Mt. Pleasant Township; a warehouse in Murrysville; and a garage in Plum.
