Heavy rains cause business roof to collapse

ELKHART, Ind. -- Driving rains Thursday afternoon caused the roof of BD Industries in Elkhart to collapse.

It happened at one of the buildings at the industrial complex on Fieldhouse Avenue.

Around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, employees heard the roof drains buckle above them and everyone evacuated the building.

The ceiling then completely caved in.

Fortunately everyone in the building was able to get out before it collapsed.

They shut off the water and gas which minimized damage as well.

BD Industries creates aluminum parts for the aerospace industry, and they said their processing tanks and other equipment is buried under the rubble.

"The roof drain buckled, a couple of the ceiling joists fell in, which brought the roof down. So at that point we were able to get everybody out of the area, so no one was in there. We had about 45 minutes before the whole roof caved in," said Jim Denton of BD Industries.

Denton says they don't know the extent of the damage yet.