Part of the roof on New Westminster’s oldest brick building collapsed on Sunday amid high winds and heavy rain.
Fire crews were called to the Gas Works building at 231 12th St. in the afternoon after a neighbour saw part of the roof crumble.
“The roof structure had rotted over the years, and the building hasn’t been maintained at all, so I think with the heavy rains and the wind it had had enough,” New West fire Chief Tim Armstrong told the Record.
The Gas Works building was built in 1886 and survived the Great Fire of 1898, making it the oldest brick building in the city. The building and surrounding site is owned by the province and is highly contaminated because of the gas work that took place there years ago.
On Sunday, only the north portion of the roof fell, but Armstrong believes it won’t be long before the rest of the roof follows suit.
In the meantime, the fire department is in talks with the province to try and decide what to do with the building moving forward, Armstrong said.
