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Roof collapses at store

At least one person was injured at Bed, Bath & Beyond near Tyrone Square Mall. The area is flooded from this morning's fierce storm.

By JAMIE THOMPSON, CARRIE WEIMAR, CURTIS KRUEGER
Published February 3, 2006

	[Times photo: Cherie Diez]
	The windows and front doors of Bed Bath & Beyond near Tyrone Square Mall were blown out this morning after the roof collapse. Weather updates, closings

More than 40 fire and emergency units rushed to the Bed, Bath & Beyond at 2060 66th Street N, near Tyrone Square Mall after part of the store's ceiling collapsed.

Only minor injuries have been reported from the 10:58 a.m. incident, so far. All of the store's employees have been accounted for and only one had a minor injury, according to Bill Proffitt, a St. Petersburg police spokesman.

One person was taken to the hospital with lacerations, and a paramedic was transported after suffering a seizure at the scene.

Police were unsure whether any customers were still in the building. None was found during a preliminary check but officers will do a more thorough search after the building's power is shut off, Proffitt said.

"We're concerned there may be customers in there we're not aware of," Proffitt said.

Michelle Palaganas, 41, narrowly escaped injury. She was shopping for a toaster when she noticed water dripping from the ceiling. Suddenly, she heard a loud metallic crashing sound.

Palagnas dropped the toaster and ran for the back of the store, yelling at another couple to follow her. She and other customers screamed at an employee to open a fire door and they spilled out into the driving rain.

"I thought I was going to die. Thank god I didn't have my son with me," said Palagnas, a mother of three who lives in St. Petersburg.

By noon, the shopping plaza had been completely blocked off by police and emergency workers. All of the store's windows were smashed. Rain was falling in sheets and the nearby streets were flooded with calf-high water. Lightning crackled and thunder boomed as customers tried to flee the area.

A witness, Heather Love, the manager of Taco Bell at 2028 66th St. N, said she could see debris and merchandise floating in front of the store.

"Some people came out bleeding," Love said. "We don't know if it was a twister or what."

Mary Broadnax, an employee at Marshall's Department Store, 2036 66th St. N, said a customer in a fitting room reported a crash that sounded like a ceiling collapsing. People fleeing the store soon began coming into Marshall's.

"One had a significant cut on her right arm, bleeding profusely," she said.

David Rubin, vice president of property management for Cambridge Management, which manages the Crosswinds Center, where the store is located, said the store's roof was brand new.

"We don't know what's going on right now but we're trying to find out," Rubin said. "Our main concern was to make sure everyone was okay." Proffitt said police believe a portion of the interior ceiling near the store's cash register inititally collapsed. Later, after the stores were evacuated, a portion of Marshall's roof also collapsed, Proffitt said.

-- Staff Writer Jon Wilson also contributed to this report.

[Last modified February 3, 2006, 16:03:08]