The collapsed Lidl in Ostrava was architecturally unusual

OSTRAVA - The collapse of the roof of the Lidl supermarket in Ostrava has triggered an investigation by the police due to suspicion of general danger. The roof caved in on one third of the building on Tuesday evening. The incident did not result in any casualties; only a saleswoman sustained minor injuries. The designer of the building from Arpik Ostrava, Miroslav Řehulka, believes that the roof could not have collapsed solely due to the heavy snow, and that there must have been another cause for its failure. Load from snow is taken into account during the design of buildings, and therefore significant reserves are usually left.
Firefighters today urged residents to prevent potential risks of roof collapses due to heavy snow and to regularly remove the snow. Lidl informed ČTK that it has already begun removing snow from the roofs of its other stores. According to the Moravian-Silesian Governor Evžen Tošenovský (ODS), it is also the responsibility of property owners to maintain roofs during adverse weather conditions. The Moravian-Silesian firefighters also reminded all major shopping centers to address the quality of their roof constructions.
However, according to Tošenovský, even after the incident, no one will be monitoring stores to see whether they are clearing snow from their roofs. "I cannot imagine these inspections; there must be owner responsibility. I cannot imagine sending an official to check if there is too much or too little snow and whether someone has removed it," he added.
At the site of the accident, police continued their investigation today, calling in forensic experts, taking samples of the roof beams, and conducting an inspection of the roof structure. The building does not directly threaten the surrounding area, but access to it remains prohibited.
Monika Šrámková from Lidl claims that the stores are built to above-standard quality. However, the construction of the roof at the Ostrava store is not entirely typical. Due to the requirements of the chief architect's office, the building had to have a height of two floors at the front, while these stores are usually single-floor structures. The atypical adjustment involved visually raising the space under the roof. Řehulka asserts that everything is fine from a design perspective.
The accident occurred in the Moravská Ostrava area near the Futurum shopping center. The supermarket was open at that time. The roof was damaged over one third of the building, where the storage area is located. The debris got caught on the shelves and only fell to the ground in one place. Several people were inside the building at that time and managed to escape. According to initial police estimates, the damage to the building is at least one million crowns.
However, the roof collapse at the Ostrava store is not the only incident in recent days. The roof of a family house in Zubří in the Vsetín district also could not withstand the weight of the snow early this morning. According to a neighbor who reported the incident to rescuers, no one was in the house. For safety reasons, the winter stadium in Orlová in the Karviná district was also closed today. According to the structural engineer, its operation cannot be resumed until the snow is removed from the roof.