The roof at the vocational building at Jefferson County High School caved in.DANDRIDGE, Tenn. – Nearly continuous heavy rain is blamed for the collapse of a section of the roof of a high school building in Dandridge. Risen streams also necessitated at least two swift-water rescues and swept away a fisherman, the latter in Kentucky.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported firefighters were called early Sunday afternoon and found about 5,000 square feet of the roof at the vocational building at Jefferson County High School caved in.
“As everybody knows, it’s been raining the past several days almost nonstop,” said Dandridge Fire Chief Andy Riley. “I’m going to say you’ve probably got some water-related issues that are the reason why it collapsed. No doubt about it.”
The school district was calling in structural engineers to see if the building could be saved.
Searchers were continuing Monday to look for a man who fell into Elkhorn Creek in Franklin County in central Kentucky. Sheriff Pat Melton told WLEX-TV in Lexington the man, in his late 20s, fell into the creek off Highway 460 and was pulled away by rushing waters. The man’s name was not immediately released.