A downtown Lima motel is deemed unsafe for occupancy as its roof is ripped off in this morning's high winds.
After an inspection by the City of Lima's Building and Zoning Department, residents at the Royal Inn were given until Sunday to vacate the premises. It was just before 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning when the galvanized steel roof on the Royal Inn at the corner of West Market and North McDonel streets took flight. It happened in two sections. Witnesses say the first piece flew through the air like a piece of paper over another building, landing on a truck parked on Pierce Street. The second section peeled back and fell into the alley behind the inn. Workers at Power Block Motors next to the Royal Inn heard the commotion outside.
"We were just working on stuff in the shop and all of a sudden we hear like metal tearing and stuff flying across the roof. We honestly thought it was a tornado and then we saw the piece of roof fall on to the truck, so that's when we came out and started investigating. Found out it was on the truck and still some more on the roof and more coming off the motel and it just seemed like it kept coming," said Wade Pristel.
Winds at that time were sustained at 32 miles per hour with gusts up to 45 miles per hour. There's still a good portion of the roof on the building and building inspectors have given the owner 15 days to secure the remaining portion. Once repairs have been made to the motel, it will be inspected again for a new certification of occupancy.
