Two injured in roof collapse

PORTLAND – Two men were injured Wednesday when a piece of the partially collapsed building they were inspecting fell on them, the authorities said.

The men, a structural engineer and a contractor, were inside the old Multnomah Mill building in St. Helens when at least one of them became concerned about the structure’s stability. They were leaving when the chunk of roof fell, pinning one of them under the debris, Columbia River Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Terry Grice told the Oregonian newspaper.

The men, whose names have not been released, were taken to Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.

The property is owned by the Port of St. Helens. Its executive director, Gerry Meyer, said the workers were inspecting the structure after snow buildup collapsed part of it the night before.

United Pacific Forest Products occupies the site, but no one from the business was inside Wednesday. Grice estimated that about 40 percent of the roof has collapsed, and he expected further damage.

“When one of the trusses go, they tend to go in a series,” he told the newspaper.