Amid heavy rain Tuesday, a Somerville auto body shop’s roof collapsed, damaging cars and a boat inside.
No one was injured when the roof caved in at A Plus Auto Body Tuesday, one of the first garages in Somerville at 297 Medford Street. The collapse was partially caused by the heavy rain combined with the building’s century-old infrastructure, according to city officials.
Several customers’ cars were totaled and the owner’s boat was damaged when the wooden beams collapsed late Tuesday afternoon. Six employees were inside at the time, but they were not in the damaged section of the shop.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
“Could have been much worse," Somerville Deputy Fire Chief Sean Tierney said. "I’m definitely thankful that things aligned the way they did and nobody was in that section of the building when it came down."
Engineers determined everything from the entrance to the right side of the building will be demolished due to instability. Owner John Fargione blames construction on the Green Line and the heavy equipment leaning up against his building.
"I just heard a big rumbling coming down like you would see, like the side of a mountain coming down. It just came down all at once," Fargione said.
The exact cause of the collapse remains under investigation.
