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The roof of the rear warehouse at Home Hardware Building Centre on Old Airport Road caved in Monday. - April Robinson/NNSL photo

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Four years after a deadly roof collapse at the Home Hardware Building Centre, the store's owner is facing deja-vu, although this time it wasn't tragic.

"You don't believe it can happen once. It's unbelievable it happened a second time," said Chuck Corothers.

"The scary thing is it happened when the store was open."

Heavy snow is to blame for Monday's collapse on a rear warehouse, Corothers said. The NWT Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission is still investigating.

No one was in the warehouse at the time.

Two Yellowknife firefighters died after the roof of another shed at the same store collapsed on top of them March 17, 2005.

Corothers said he was having a look at the 30-year-old warehouse, where crews had been installing new support posts and a new overhead door, just before the roof collapsed. About 10 minutes later, he heard the thump of the cave in, and the ringing fire alarm, tripped by sprinklers.

The store was evacuated and shut down for the rest of the day.

Firefighters arrived just after 2:30 p.m., said Yellowknife fire chief Albert Headrick.

Corothers said a higher-than-usual snow load caused the wood rafters to "let go" causing a 4.5-by-nine-metre hole.

Even if warehouse construction was complete, it wouldn't have affected the outcome, he added.

But it's difficult to pinpoint how the collapse could have been prevented.

"It's constructed to withstand snow loads," he said of the building. It's not safe to have people shovel off the roof. It's also difficult to use a lift truck to clear it - but Corothers thinks that's what he might do until the Home Hardware company builds a new warehouse, expected this summer.

He said every time he has renovations done - which is often - the entire store undergoes a building inspection.

In 2005, firefighters Lt. Cyril Fyfe and Kevin Olson were killed when a saw shed roof collapsed under the weight of snow and other firefighters. They were fighting a fire in the shed caused by a heater.

Corothers said Tuesday he didn't want to talk about how the collapse made him feel.

"We had a horrendous situation here (four) years ago," he said. "My first concern was making sure everyone was OK."

Staff and customers reacted calmly, he said, but the incident renewed memories of the last roof collapse.

"The individuals who were here when the disaster happened - it was hard on them. Myself included."