Emergency personnel rushed to the scene of a partial barn collapse with fire Saturday morning off Country Club Lane at North Rogers Street near the Waterloo Country Club. One person died in the incident.

Per Monroe County Coroner Bob Hill, initial on-scene investigation shows that at 9:35 a.m., a 911 call was placed by a worker on scene stating that the dilapidated barn they were working to tear down at 166 Country Club Lane had collapsed on two of his co-workers.

Firefighters were eventually able to reach both victims, with one man transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital South in St. Louis County for treatment of injuries not considered life-threatening.

Monroe County Deputy Coroner Theresa Hitzemann pronounced the other trapped individual, 58-year-old Derrick Spalt of Wildwood, Mo., deceased at the scene.

Assisting the Waterloo and Columbia fire departments and coroner’s office on scene were Monroe County EMS, Columbia EMS, the Waterloo Police Department and Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.

The fire was reported to be under control within a short amount of time.

“They had a fire burning in the back of the structure that was not a factor in the collapse,” Waterloo Fire Chief Mike Lloyd told the Republic-Times on Monday. “Once the collapse happened, part of the structure fell onto the fire.”

Hill said an autopsy was conducted Sunday morning to assist in the investigation.

Per a news release issued Monday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department said a deputy arrived within two minutes of the 911 call to confirm the subjects were trapped and smoke and flames were showing from the collapsed barn. MCSD deputies, Monroe County EMS personnel and an assisting Waterloo police officer located a 42-year-old man from Kirkwood, Mo., trapped with obvious leg injuries.

“The first responders were able to lift and break part of the roof to free the male and pulled him to safety,” MCSD Sgt. Justin Biggs said.

Deputies then located the second trapped worker, Spalt, who was not conscious.

“Deputies and other first responders attempted to free the victim, however, the weight of the roof that had collapsed on (Spalt) was too much,” Biggs said.

The Waterloo Fire Department was able to free Spalt, who was pronounced deceased.

“Our investigation revealed three workers were hired to take the barn apart and save the barn wood so the wood could be sold at a later time,” Biggs said. “The workers were on the property for approximately two hours before the barn collapsed. Two workers were inside the barn during the collapse. The third was outside and was one of the individuals who called 911.”

Biggs said the workers had cut and were taking down support beams when the collapse occurred.

Biggs added that first responders put their own lives at risk in efforts to save the trapped men.

“They worked quickly, trying to break some of the roof to get to those trapped,” Biggs said. “Unfortunately, the part of the roof that had collapsed on Mr. Spalt was too much weight for the first responders to move by hand.”

The MCSD asks the public to remain off the property as the structure is still unsecured and pending investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration due to it being a work-related incident.