After a Long Island bakery roof collapsed under the weight of snow Monday night, officials are calling it a "wake-up call" for any owner of a building with flat roofs.
A 60-foot section of the Inter-County Bakery Supply and Cold Storage in Deer Park collapsed.
"They heard some creaking noise, one of the maintenance men in the back, and looked up and saw one of the beams twisting," said Babylon building inspector Tim Besemer.
The warning led to an evacuation of the area. No one inside was hurt.
The hole in the roof forced Babylon's chief building inspector to condemn part of the warehouse. He says the danger comes from roof drains that often freeze in the harsh winter weather, trapping heavy moisture on the roof.
Warren Pavon clears roofs of trouble for a living, and his Hicksville business has been busy the last few days. Still, he says too many building and homeowners with flat roofs neglect what is a serious threat.
"You just figure the building is the building and it will probably never happen to you," he said. "But it happens every time you have a big snow."
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To understand the sheer weight of all the snow on a roof, experts say to pick up one shovel full of snow to get a feel for how heavy it is.
"If you have a building and you have 18 inches of snow, you have a problem," said Pavon.
Suffolk County is still digging out from last week's blizzard, which dumped 30 inches of snow in some spots.
