FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Since July 21st when the VFW Post 8900’s roof came crashing down, their building was uninhabitable and filled with debris, insulation, and pieces of the ceiling. 

The collapse was caused by aging infrastructure, and while no one was hurt, it left the veterans without a place to gather. 

VFW Hall Manager Jerry Sanchez told our news team in August, that he was there as the roof collapsed. 

“Rumbling like a train going by, you know my door was closed, so I opened it to see snow that was the insulation that was flying everywhere,” Sanchez said. 

Just weeks after the collapse, post-commander Willie Tate Jr. told us they had already lost nearly $30,000 in fundraising after having to cancel multiple events. He said to make things worse, their insurance wasn’t covering the damage. 

When veteran and owner of Central Valley Environmental Tim Williamson, heard about what happened, he said he wanted to help donate his company’s time and resources.

“I just thought that if I could do something to help them and to speed this process along, I wanted to do that,” he said.  

Williamson’s company focuses on hazardous materials removal and demolitions. He said they have been working on removing the debris that was left from when the roof fell, that way the building can be cleared, and veterans may soon be able to re-enter parts of the building where the roof is still up.  

While the roof still needs to be completed, he says this is a step towards a fresh start. 

“I’ve been able to meet some of the veterans there too and I could just see that they definitely have a sigh of relief seeing that there’s some progress being made on getting this cleaned up,” he added. 

Williamson said they believe they will be done with demolition and clean up on Monday, and then the general contractor for the project will then be able to take over.