Video Shows New York Fire Station Collapse Under Heavy Snow

A firehouse in central New York collapsed under the weight of heavy snow over the weekend, just minutes after personnel cleared the building.

The Barneveld Fire Department said that at around 3 p.m. Saturday, members inside the firehouse in Barneveld, about 60 miles northeast of Syracuse, heard “popping sounds” and began to investigate. They found structural damage, with the truss area of the front wall bowed.

Personnel immediately began moving the apparatus and other equipment out of the station, while others began working to clear snow from the roof. The Stittville Fire Department sent a ladder truck to assist with snow removal, and a local contractor was called.

But while coming up with a plan to shore up the structure, it became clear “the building had become too unstable,” the fire department said. Everyone cleared out of the building, and it collapsed at around 5:22 p.m.

“Many of us were standing within feet of the structure when it started to collapse,” Barneveld Fire Chief Kevin Kalk told Syracuse.com.

A surveillance video shared by the Beaver Meadow Veterinary Clinic across the street from the fire station shows the moment the structure collapsed, sending a cloud of snow and debris across the parking lot, which was filled with equipment and people.

Kalk said the department is 100% volunteer, and because members all had other full-time jobs on top of responding to calls, they had originally planned to clear the snow on Sunday.

“Were fortunate that we had members in the station that heard the cracking and that we were able to get our apparatus out,” Kalk said. “Because, if we did not, the building could have collapsed with all of our trucks still inside, which would have made the loss probably $2 million in apparatus.”

The fire department said in a statement that its front-line apparatus is currently being stored at the Town of Trenton Highway Department, and its reserve apparatus is being stored at the Newport Fire Department and the Floyd Fire Department.