Roof Collapses A Concern After Snowfall

BRAINTREE (CBS) - Roofing crews removed snow and ice from flat commercial roofs in eastern Massachusetts as at least three collapses were reported.

"It's about drainage with flat roofs," said Jim Bennette, owner of J. Bennette Roofing.

As his crew cleared snow from the roof of Richmond Hardware on Washington Street in Braintree, Bennette, cleared a drain that had frozen.

"It's up in the 30's now.  We're chipping this out of here. We got about eight inches of water cause the pipe's frozen," he explained.

Bennette said its best to hire a fully-insured, properly equipped professional crew for flat roof work but anyone who does it should never forget they're on a roof, especially while working on slippery surfaces near edges; find out if there are skylights and be careful of the waterproof membrane.

WBZ-TV's Ron Sanders reports.

"You want a shovel that doesn't have sharp edges," he advised.

Under the roof, Steve Richmond's hardware store was dry but flooded with weather related business, selling roof rakes, among other items.

"We were selling shovels like you can't imagine and ice melt, selling like a truck of ice melt a day," said Richmond.

Other businesses with flat roofs, such as Stockholders restaurant in Weymouth, were having snow removed Thursday.

A crew from Timberline Construction was removing snow from the roof a 5-story hotel they're building in Canton so they could put a membrane on it.