SHAMOKIN - The top floor of a fire-damaged three-story brick building shifted some 6 inches in a matter of two days, prompting city officials on Thursday to order the immediate tear-down of the top part of the structure.
The sudden demolition project created some traffic tie-ups along Route 61 (East Sunbury Street) at the city's east end Thursday afternoon, but Code Enforcement Officer Rick Bozza said action was necessary to eliminate the risk of injury to passing pedestrians or motorists.
The building at 604, 606 and 608 E. Sunbury St. was heavily damaged in an arson fire Jan. 28. Bricks near the top of the structure appeared to be teetering toward the street for months.
The demolition crew from Knoeppel Coal Deliveries and Home Renovations, Shamokin, was also tearing down a neighboring property, 602 E. Sunbury, at the corner of Sunbury and Franklin streets. That wood-framed single home was also damaged in the January fire.
Bozza said in March that the property owners were taking steps toward having the damaged buildings razed, noting at the time the city had "great concern" about the conditions. The property owners are responsible for the cost, he said.
Working from the street and inside the building, about five people from Knoeppel were using an excavator to tear at the top two stories of the brick building Thursday afternoon. They also used a rope tied to a small Bobcat loader to yank down sections of the building.
At times, just a few bricks were falling. At other times, large sections of the building came crashing down, creating clouds of dust in the hot, humid afternoon air.
East Sunbury Street was closed between North Shamokin and North Pearl streets and most traffic was diverted to East Dewart or East Commerce streets. Larger vehicles, including trucks and buses, were allowed to pass on East Sunbury Street. In those cases, fire police were controlling the flow of traffic one direction at a time.
North Franklin Street between East Sunbury and East Commerce streets also was blocked off.
Owners must move debris
There was rubble all over the sidewalk near the building by late Thursday, and it's unknown how long it may be there. It is the responsibility of the homeowners to have the debris removed, Bozza said.
Barbara Frazier, of Coal Township, who owns 608 E. Sunbury St., said she hired someone who will take away some of the bricks Saturday, but she doesn't know when she will have the money to remove the rest of the debris.
Frazier, who was at the scene Thursday, previously said she bought 608 E. Sunbury St. just a few weeks before the fire. Her intent was to fix it up with her brother Andy Britton Sr. and friends and rent it out.
The permit to raze the building lasts a year, she said.
The owner of 604 and 606 Sunbury St., Bettina Senessey, of Paxinos, was not at the scene Thursday, nor was Susan Martz, of Paxinos, owner of 602 E. Sunbury St.
Charges waived
In February, James L. Neidlinger, 21, whose last known address is 203 E. Dewart St., waived to court multiple arson-related offenses relating to the Jan. 28 fire that destroyed the triple home. In March, he waived to court similar charges relating to blazes at 717 N. Shamokin St. on Sept. 5 and the former Hardshell Cafe and an adjacent building in the 400 block of North Shamokin Street on the evening of Jan. 24.