Morristown police: Search concludes nobody was inside collapsed building

Firefighters at Spring Street roof collapse. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Firefighters at Spring Street roof collapse. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Firefighters at Spring Street roof collapse. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Firefighters at Spring Street roof collapse. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

A search has concluded that nobody was inside a vacant building on Spring Street when the roof partially collapsed at 11:24 am on Thursday, Morristown police said.

“Building and construction officials will be continuing an assessment to evaluate the structural integrity of the building,” Lt. Stuart Greer said in a statement.

Specially trained rescue teams were summoned by Fire Chief Robert Flanagan because tracks were observed in the snow near the building, and there were concerns that homeless persons might have been inside at the time of the roof cave-in, Mayor Tim Dougherty said.

The search was delayed when the first search dog brought to the scene was not up to the task. Another search canine had to be rounded up.

The former Lincoln Mercury dealership at 116 Spring St. has been earmarked for demolition to make way for a CVS pharmacy.

Earlier in the morning, a snow-caked roof collapsed into another vacant building, at 35 Market St.  No injuries were reported there, either.  Market and Bank streets were closed to traffic until around 2 pm.

–Berit Ollestad contributed to this report.

1 COMMENT

  1. I saw the roof had collapsed when I drove through that part of town at 8:00… I guess it took awhile for someone to call it in. Opps.

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