Experts are investigating why the roof of the stadium in Humpolec collapsed

JIHLAVA - Only the court will decide why the roof of the ice rink in Humpolec collapsed on Friday. Thanks to the immediate evacuation of about thirty young hockey players, no one was harmed. Jiří Vališ, the chairman of TJ Jiskra Humpolec, which owns the stadium, insisted until Friday that the contractor told him that the roof structure could handle the snow load. However, representatives of the firm categorically denied this on Saturday, claiming they had recommended he start clearing the snow. The police are investigating the case as a general threat.
According to experts, the reason for the disaster could be a thick layer of snow on the roof, a structural error, material defect, poorly executed work, or several factors at once.
The decision on the removal of the wreckage of the stadium will not be made until Monday. According to firefighters, there is currently no danger at the site; the building is disconnected from utilities, and calcium chloride and ammonia are secured against leaks.
"The stadium building is owned by the sports unit, and one of the issues is who will actually pay for the removal of the wreckage," said mayor Jiří Kučera to ČTK today. On Monday, city management will meet with representatives of TJ at the town hall. They are expected to present the insurance contract and other important documents. The court-appointed structural engineer also promised to bring the investigation report. After that, a suitable demolition company will be sought. However, the order for demolition must come from the investigative team of the Pelhřimov police. As director Jan Pešek stated, they will also meet on Monday.
According to Jiří Hörner, the director of the Pelhřimov firefighters, a two-member patrol conducted a preventive inspection of the ice rink building last week. "As in the entire region, they checked the escape routes and evacuation plan, as well as the visual check for buckling beams and the snow layer on the roof," Hörner told ČTK today. According to Hörner, chairman Vališ told them that representatives from the contractor visited the construction sites after the roof collapse in Austria and said that the load of approximately 40 centimeters of snow must be withstand by the structure, which is designed for higher loads. "There was no reason not to believe him," said Hörner. The mayor has the same information.
Representatives of the Hradec Králové contractor, Jiří Dražka and František Karásek, rejected Vališ's claims. They allegedly told the stadium manager that he should start removing the snow from the roof. "It is 1000 percent an overload of the supporting structure of the hall," Karásek told reporters.
On Saturday, Vališ told ČTK that they had been measuring the snow layer on the roof continuously. "It was a maximum of 40 centimeters. We thought there was no danger; it is a new roof, and 40 centimeters of snow in Humpolec is not an anomaly," he stated.
The roofing of the stadium cost more than 20 million. It was handed over for use in December 2004. According to Vališ, the contractor is the authorized dealer of prefabricated steel halls, B.C. Building Centrum, based in Hradec Králové. They have built dozens of similar halls in the Czech Republic.
In the Vysočina region, at least 16 roofs have collapsed in recent days, mostly on agricultural buildings in the Pelhřimov area. The regional governor, after Saturday's crisis staff meeting, once again called on mayors, owners, and operators to check the statics of buildings and potentially close endangered ones. He offered that the region would pay for the services of structural engineers for the municipalities.