The large awning at the Irving gas station in downtown Conway, New Hampshire, collapsed Thursday morning as workers shoveled off snow.

Safety officials are urging Mainers to clear roofs in anticipation of another snowstorm this weekend.

The Irving station’s awning tilted toward the station’s convenience store at 10 a.m. and crashed onto a black Cadillac sport utility vehicle parked at the pumps, crushing it, said Stephen Solomon, fire chief for Conway, which is just over the border from Fryeburg, Maine.

The driver was in the car but was unhurt because his side of the car was alongside the pumps. The two workers also escaped injury, because they had been tethered as required, Solomon said. Nobody else was injured.

Investigators still aren’t sure why the canopy collapsed. Conway has received above-average snowfall this year, but not as much as coastal New Hampshire and Maine have received.

Investigators are looking into whether the workers shoveled the snow to one side of the awning and the lopsided weight caused it to tip over, he said. The canopy was built in 1982 so investigators also will look into whether rust or decay might have contributed to the collapse.

Thursday afternoon, a crane was hired to lift the canopy off the car so it could be removed.

A contractor removed the pumps for safety, and the Fire Department is working with the station’s owner to find an acceptable fire suppression system so the station can reopen, Solomon said.

“Most people think the canopies are conveniences for customers to keep the snow and rain off, but actually there’s a full fire suppression system there designed to fight a gasoline fire,” he said.

The station is the only one in downtown Conway. Two others within sight of the location have closed in recent years.

Related Stories