Lawsuit: Roofing company negligent in Winthrop fire

File photo: Winthrop Fire at Owens Hall.

Melissa Cherry Melissa Cherry mcherry@heraldonline.comBuy Photo

ROCK HILL The state is accusing a Spartanburg-based roofing company of negligence and breach of contract because of a fire in a Winthrop University academic building in March 2010.

The lawsuit, filed by state Budget and Control Boards insurance division, does not specify how much money the university and the division are seeking.

Chief Otis Driggers of the Rock Hill Fire Department closed the case in late April 2010, saying fire investigators could not pinpoint exactly what caused the blaze at Winthrops Owens Hall.

The lawsuit, filed Sept. 5, claims Pickens Roofing and Sheet Metals improperly stored combustible construction materials on the roof of Bancroft Hall which is connected to the roof of Owens Hall prior to the March 6 fire.

Pickens Roofing was hired in August 2009 to repair an area described as the Bancroft Annex roof, a roof section connected to the building destroyed by the blaze. Winthrop paid Pickens Roofing $358,448 for the project.

The company violated building codes and industry standards by storing flammable roofing materials in the workspace, the state office alleges in the lawsuit.

Representatives from Pickens Roofing and Sheet Metals did not return calls Wednesday. The Pickens Roofing employee listed on the Winthrop contract no longer works for the company, another employee told The Herald on Wednesday.

Fire officials said in 2010 that the blaze, which burned for about 24 hours, started on a small section of flat roof outside the building where Owens Hall and Bancroft Annex join.

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Lawsuit: Roofing company negligent in Winthrop fire