Watch: Interior roof collapses in Wenatchee movie theater

The ceiling of a Wenatchee movie theater partially collapsed Tuesday, according to Cam Phillips, battalion chief for the Wenatchee Valley Fire Department (WVFD).

The department was called to the Liberty Cinema in downtown Wenatchee around 8 p.m. after calls about a partial roof collapse.

The WVFD found debris covering the front portion of the auditorium.

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No injuries in Wenatchee movie house roof collapse

Two people were under the roof when it fell. Neither were injured.

“Some black material fell out of the ceiling, and the ceiling is probably 30 to 40 feet tall in there,” Phillips told KIRO Newsraido’s Heather Bosch.

When people looked up, “All of a sudden, it started to fall,” he said. “Everything all at once. The full width of the theater came down.”

The fire department found exposed wires in the ceiling and building material covering the first few rows.

“Captain Ameria: A Brave New World” was showing at the historic building, which opened in 1919.

A structural inspection will be done, and the collapse is under investigation.

“The roof structure is great, and for whatever reason, they built like a dropped-out ceiling that they framed out, and it drops down maybe six feet, just,” Phillips said. “It allow a little place to run.”

The theater’s website read:

The Liberty Cinema will be closed until further notice. We’re sorry for any inconvenience that may have caused and thank you for your patience.

“We’ve basically shut everything down, notified the building department, and killed power to the building,” Phillips said. “We need to address what else could be problematic that is not safe at this time, plus the asbestos issue is a huge one, so it’s shut down. It’s not being used.”

Contributing: Heather Bosch, KIRO Newsradio

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