HUNTSVILLE, AL. - City officials and representatives of Wall Highway Baptist Church still do not know what caused the 10,000 square-foot roof to collapse at its multipurpose building Tuesday night.

A group was playing a three-on-three basketball game when they heard a "pop," said Tommy Marr, the interim minister at the church. The roof then slowly fell down in two pieces. No one was injured.

Constructed in 1988, the building housed a gym, a kitchen and other rooms used for adult and youth programs. Marr said the roof did not have water or termite damage "visible whatsoever," and the only attention it received was five years ago to replace shingles.

"The investigation is still ongoing," he said, " but we are certain it's a structural cause."

Marr noted the church's insurance carrier will cover the loss, including damage to the exposed gymnasium floor. But they are able to prevent water damage to areas in the adjoining building that weren't affected by collapsing roof.

"It will be at least a couple of months before we can reconstruct it," he said.

Many churches in the neighboring area have offered to help, Marr added, and the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions "will likely provide" mobile classrooms for Sunday school.

Interim director of Huntsville's inspection department, Randy Cunningham, said from what they have viewed, the cause is not absolutely there.

"We didn't see anything obvious, but when they start to clean up, something might be found to see what happened," he said. "An engineer will probably be hired to do an analysis of the structural condition to determine what's the actual cause."

Cunningham also said the heat was not a contributing factor in his opinion since many buildings in Huntsville are considerably older. Ventilation was not a problem either he said.

If you would like to make a donation to the reconstruction of Wall Highway Baptist Church's gym, contact the church office at 256-837-0971.