Partial Roof Collapse Precludes Classes at Brown School

Image cred: Fox

Female students at the Benjamin Brown elementary school are newly short one first floor bathroom, and classes are cancelled for Wednesday, March 11, due a roof collapsing around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Fox reports that the collapse set off a motion detector, and was discovered by an investigating custodian. Officials rushed to notify parents via reverse 911 calls and emails.

Concerns that the many flat roofs on Somerville city buildings wouldn’t hold up under this winter’s historic amounts of snow forced schools throughout Somerville closed during the second week of February.

During that month, aerial drones were enlisted, in addition to more traditional methods, to inspect and ensure the steadfastness of city roofs. Unlike the section over the girls’ bathroom, the majority of the roof over the Brown School is pitched, and therefore not thought to be at risk for a collapse, according to Fox.