HALLOWELL – Kennebec Ice Arena officials scrambled Thursday to gather information on the roof collapse that destroyed their building Wednesday.

“We’re still trying to figure things out,” facility manager K.C. Johnson said outside the arena less than 24 hours after the collapse.

The arena’s owner, Peter Prescott, did not return several calls to his office and home.

The building collapsed Wednesday afternoon, apparently as a thickening snowpack overburdened the roof.

Three people escaped as the roof caved in during a scheduled break between events.

Dan Davis, an oil- and hazardous-materials specialist for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, said 400 pounds of ammonia gas remained in the arena’s refrigeration system.

Davis said it’s difficult to line up equipment to remove ammonia, which is used to freeze the ice, and the unstable structure made the job too dangerous Thursday.

A specialist was at the arena Wednesday to isolate valves, which greatly decreased the potential for an ammonia leak, Davis said. Propane and oil have been removed.

“The ammonia is the only possible concern that’s still on site,” Davis said. “It looks like now (its removal) will be scheduled for Monday.”

It was unknown Thursday when the building was last inspected.

Neither Hallowell City Manger Todd Shea nor Code Enforcement Officer Maureen AuCoin was available for comment.

The collapse caused the manager of at least one other ice rink to inspect the snow load on its roof.

“Our maintenance guy went out (Wednesday) and looked at the roof to see if we needed to get any snow off,” said Sandy McCabe, manager of the Sukee Arena in Winslow.

She said snow is cleared from the roof of that arena throughout the winter.

Jim Benedix Sr., one of nine men who built and opened the arena in 1972, said in a telephone interview from his home in Florida that the building was designed to withstand Maine’s tough winters.

“It was very carefully put together,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of work that goes into a building that’s 240 feet long.”