Barboursville church’s roof collapses, no one injured

BARBOURSVILLE, WV (WOWK) – Crews responded Wednesday evening after a roof collapsed at a church in Barboursville.

According to Cabell County 911 dispatchers, the call first came in around 5:20 p.m. Wednesday that the roof of the Elmwood Baptist Church at 3045 Martha Road in Barboursville had collapsed. Dispatchers say no one was injured in the incident.

The Barboursville, Green Valley and Ohio River Road volunteer fire departments responded and found heavy structural damage to the building, according to dispatchers. Cabell County 911 says the portion of the roof that fell in was over the church’s gymnasium.

13 News spoke with Barboursville Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Greg Hockenberry, who said that structural issues caused the collapse.

“We did receive a call of a possible structure fire with an explosion. We’re not seeing anything fire related, obviously further investigation could change that, but right now all we’re seeing is probably a structural collapse,” said Hockenberry.

This occurred just an hour and a half before a Bible study was scheduled to take place in the gym.

“Wednesday nights we have programs for everybody, from nursery all the way to adult. Tonight, we would’ve had dozens of kids in there, and it would’ve been a very tragic event. We’re thankful to the Lord for his protection,” said Elmwood Baptist Senior Pastor Matt Waskey.

According to the church’s website , the current Elmwood Missionary Baptist Church building was built in 1993, and the gymnasium where the roof collapsed was built in 2007. The Elmwood Missionary Baptist Church as an organization began in November 1889.

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