A former planing mill building in Johnstown’s Hornerstown section suffered a partial collapse on Saturday, closing one of the city’s busier streets.
The Johnstown Fire Department was called out about 7:30 p.m. to the structure, located on Horner Street between Hickory and Cedar streets.
Bob Statler, assistant fire chief, said his crew found that the roof and second floor of the building had given way. Shortly after arriving on scene, Statler said a wall burst open, sending debris spilling onto Horner Street.
Statler said the business had been closed for several years.
The Johnstown Public Works Department was called to the scene but it could do little to clean up the mess.
“Public works tried to move some of the debris to clear the street,” Statler said. “But we were worried that if we move more of it around, that may cause more of a collapse and a greater hazard to the community.”
As a result, Statler said the affected portion of Horner Street will remain closed until at least Monday. He said the street won’t open until the building’s owner can hire a contractor to demolish and remove the remainder of the structure.
The owner of the building wasn’t readily apparent on Saturday, Statler said, because the structure was in the process of being sold.
Saturday’s incident was the second time a building in the city suffered a partial collapse during the past four days. On Wednesday, an abandoned structure in the Old Conemaugh Borough neighborhood had to be leveled after it began to give way.
“I think a lot of this has to do with the weather,” Statler said. “When you have dilapidated buildings with this much water building up in them, something’s going to give.”
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