EXCLUSIVE: Manassas school's roof deemed unstable

MANASSAS, Va. -- Manassas officials ordered Mayfield Intermediate School closed after the roof began showing signs of collapsing Monday.

School was not in session due to the storm, so no one students were in danger. The move comes after the Prince William Ice Center in Dale City collapsed, as did an airplane hangar at Dulles Aviation’s complex at the Manassas Regional Airport. No one was injured in either incident.

The city fire marshal's office ordered Mayfield closed until school officials can meet Tuesday to discuss the situation, said Manassas fire spokesman Francis J. Teevan.

The school at 8550 Signal Hill Road opened during the 2006-2007 school year and houses more than 500 students, according to the school's Web site.

There is concern around the Prince William area that there could be more collapses Tuesday and Wednesday, when seven to 14 additional inches of snow may fall.

City fire officials spent Monday speaking with business owners along Mathis Avenue, some of whom occupy buildings built 40 years ago, asking then to consider shutting their doors to customers until the next storm passes.

“If you look at what happened during the hangar collapse at Dulles Aviation here at our airport, and then the collapse of the larger hangar at Dulles Airport, there is concern that the flat roofs of larger buildings and gathering places could collapse,” said Manassas Deputy Planner Robert Halsall. “These older roofs are just not designed to hold all of the weight they’ve collected with the record snowfall.”

A fabric store, a bowling alley, several small shops and a hardware store are just some of the shops that call the shopping center on Mathis Avenue home.

Chase Rice, manager of J.E. Rice, a family owned hardware located in the shopping center, says he won’t close his shop because of the storm.

“The roof was replaced [eight] years ago and they took a ton of weight with the new roofing material that was on it, so I wouldn’t be too concerned about it for our situation but I understand the concern after seeing some collapses in other places,” said Rice.

Another snow storm will overspread the region Tuesday when a winter storm warning goes into effect at noon. Snow is likely with the storm, while some sleet could mix in at times, according to the National Weather Service.

Any new snow accumulations will fall on top the already 20 or more inches that fell over the weekend.

Manassas officials are preparing for the next round of winter weather and picked up 300 meals-ready-to-eat from a Fredericksburg National Guard Armory on Monday.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.