Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving
Ceiling and Sub-Roof of 25 Oak Street Collapse
May 14,2013
Boyd A. Loving
7:21 PM
Ridgewood NJ, At 5:24 PM on Tuesday, Ridgewood Police, Fire, EMS, and Emergency Services departments were notified by a 911 telephone call of a reported roof collapse at 25 Oak Street. The address is a vacant one story retail storefront, most recently the home of a sporting goods store. Arriving units observed mounds of debris through the front store windows. It was subsequently determined that only the sub-roof and ceiling had collapsed; no one was in the vacant store at the time.
Ridgewood FD personnel were directed to check neighboring structures for damage. Ridgewood’s chief building code enforcement official, Anthony Merlino was called to the scene. The cause of the collapse is still undetermined. Oak Street between East Ridgewood and Franklin Avenues remains closed while officials conduct an investigation. No injuries to either civilians or emergency personnel have been reported at this time. Ridgewood Police Chief John Ward, Ridgewood Fire Chief James Van Goor, and Ridgewood EMS/Emergency Services Chief Brian Pullman were all at the scene personally directing their respective response teams.
Photo credit: Boyd A. Loving
Time marches on…my son spent time in this store to buy baseball equipment, and when I was his age, I did the same thing. Fond memories. It is crazy to see how quickly the structure can crumble once the human element is removed.
It would have crumbled anyway. It’s a good thing there was no human element in there at the time.