Vacant Building On Moody Street In Waltham To Be Demolished After Roof Collapse

WALTHAM (CBS) -- A Waltham roof is left with a large hole after a collapse on Monday morning. It happened near 200 Moody Street.

No one was in the building and no injuries were reported.

Fire Chief Tom MacInnis said the building has been empty for years and water had been deteriorating it for some time.

The call initially came in as possible vandalism. An officer responded and realized the roof inside was coming down.

"It's basically a collapse on the inside pushing the front wall out. We're doing all precaution now so that the front of the wall, if it does come down, will be covered and everything will be out of the way," said MacInnis.

Material had pushed its way out of the front windows, sending shards of glass onto the sidewalk.

The fire department is working to get an emergency permit to tear the building down.

"If it comes down, it's not going to hurt anybody, nobody is in the area, power is shut off, gas is shut off so we should be fine," MacInnis said.

The owner of the building told WBZ-TV that the structure has been empty for 11 years. He planned to demolish it and build a hotel. After Monday's collapse, the demolition part will be pushed up.

The building next door is also empty.

The area will be blocked off but MacInnis hopes two lanes of traffic are kept going at all times.