Waterford Township, Michigan (WXYZ) – Strong winds were badly damaged on Tuesday afternoon in the roof of the Rolladium Family Fun Center in Waterford Township.
Part of the roof material tore off the building near the Highland Road and the Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford Township. According to firefighters, nobody was injured.
Listen from the fire chief Matthew Nye about the incident in the following video player:
Waterford Fire Chief talks about large roof damage in a rolling room after strong winds
The damage occurred when a number of heavy storms moved through the Metro Detroit with harmful winds on Tuesday afternoon. In some cases, the winds reached 70 and 70 miles per hour, according to the 7th Weatelt team.
Trees and power lines were over the area, said Matthew Nye, fire chief of Waterford.
Nye said he had learned from the incident at 2 p.m. from his deputy boss, who sent a video from social media.
“I found it interesting that a 911 call did not come in, so I sent out our investigation team to check it. They found the roof actively in the pouring rain or it was there or it was completely demolished,” said Nye.
As soon as the officials were on site, they worked to get everyone out of the building. At the time of the incident, there were only a few employees in the building. About an hour before the roof went out, it was an open skate meeting for seniors.
The boss said the officials rate the damage, but said: “It looks pretty significant.” The inside of the building was also damaged.
He said, although there are heavy storms in the area, the incident in the rolling room is unexpected.
“You don't see it very often.” It's pretty far from me because I met my first girlfriend here as a child, so it's pretty interesting to see it in this form. “
Tony Anselmi is the former general manager and his mother is the current owner. He said Tuesday was an emotional day, but the support of the community helped them get through.
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“Whether you believe it or not, every car you see in the parking lot is currently a customer to see what you can do. So it's nice,” said Anselmi.
Anselmi added that the cleanup and roof repairs will take days. A reopening date has not been announced, but he said they hope that they will be back into operation as soon as possible.
Firefighters worked with engineers, the roofer and the board-up company to ensure that the structure is safe. The load of damage is expected to go to a safe place outside the scene, said the boss.
“What a devastating way with perhaps tragic injuries or a loss of life looked spectacular that there was absolutely no injuries and no loss of life,” said Nye.
The rolling wing was opened in 1950 and has a rolling railway, an arcade, party rooms and much more.