MEXICO – A 70-year-old, wood-frame building that once housed a motor vehicle dealership collapsed under the weight of heavy snow early Wednesday morning.

The Morrison Motors building, located along River Road and adjacent to the Region 9 School of Applied Technology, is believed to have collapsed around 1 a.m., said police Chief Jim Theriault.

Theriault estimated the value of the building, which was destroyed, at about $40,000. An antique Jeep and a boat were stored inside the building and are believed to have been destroyed.

Two other vehicles parked outside the front of the building, a Grand Am and a GMC pickup truck owned by Karen Turner, the building’s new owner, were damaged by the falling roof.

Turner said Wednesday afternoon that she was waiting to hear from her insurance company. She said she expects the building to be taken down and doesn’t know if a another building will be constructed on the site.

No one was in the building when it collapsed.

Rob Stevens, Mexico’s tax assessor, said Turner, the daughter of the original owner, recently purchased the building from the Marlene Morrison Trust.

Stevens said the Mexico building is the first he is aware of in the area to collapse from the weight of snow. He said at least a half-dozen buildings in the Farmington area, including garages in Wilton, Industry, have collapsed because of heavy snow.

The one-story building sat on a 1.15-acre parcel and once served as a dance hall, said Stevens.

Turner said she was shocked when Mexico police officer Dustin Broughton called her during the early morning about the collapse.

Theriault said Central Maine Power was on site Wednesday morning to turn off electricity

Copy the Story Link