WELLS, Maine — The Wells Public Library suffered a partial roof collapse Thursday morning as roof trusses buckled under the weight of ice and snow in a small section near the library’s front door.
The library will be closed Thursday and Friday and will open once a structural assessment is complete and a repair plan is put in place.
Wells Town Manager Jonathan Carter said the roof trusses cracked over the reference section near the front of the library causing the drop ceiling in that area to bow.
The library will be closed for a few days at a minimum as snow is removed and the damage is assessed. Carter said the Wells Fire Department is clearing the remaining snow on the roof and on Friday will cut a hole in the roof so that an inspector can assess the extent of damage to the trusses.
Once the inspection is complete, Carter said he has already contacted a company to make the repairs to the roof, but no timeline is set.
“The drop ceiling in the library front section was discovered to have sagged and the town called in a structural engineer to review the situation,” Carter said.
“A plan is in place at this time to have the library close for the next couple of days, remove the remaining snow off the roof that hadn’t earlier been removed, and on Friday morning cut a hole in the roof to have the structural engineer do an assessment of the roof trusses that appear to be in failure,” he continued. “We have a contractor standing by to then determine the extent of the repairs or work needed with the engineer.”
The town is insured for the damage, Carter said.
He added that response to the incident has been “excellent” from the Wells Fire Department, with mutual aid by the Ogunquit Fire Department, Wells Highway Department, town engineer, code enforcement officer, Wells Facility Manager and the library staff.
He said that for safety reasons the library will be closed Thursday and Friday and it will reopen once the structural assessment is complete and a repair plan is known.