MOUNT CARMEL - The owner of a building that experienced a partial collapse Sunday afternoon said the pile of wood and brick that fell upon South Locust Street and the sidewalk will be cleaned up today.
Mike Adzema, owner of Bob's Autocare Sales at 450 E. Fifth St., said the debris fell from the east side of the building facing South Locust Street at approximately 1:30 p.m.
The three story building at the corner of South Locust and East Fifth streets has been owned by Adzema since 1979.
Harry Hartopp, who lives at 212 S. Locust St. next to the auto store, said the collapse happened with "a loud thud and a big cloud of dust."
Adzema said, "Thank God" no on was walking beneath it at the time.
The wall near the roof had been bowing out for several months, and crews from H & P Construction Inc. in Kulpmont were already scheduled to start fixing it today, he said.
"Instead of us taking it down, it came down by itself," he said.
The west side of the building is the public portion of Adzema's business, and the east side, which is where the partial collapse took place, is used for storage, he said.
Robin Williams, the borough's code enforcement officer, was unable to be reached Sunday for comment, but Adzema said the police and fire crews checked the building for further problems and found none.
Caution tape and cones were set up around his business to protect the public from wandering too close to the debris.
Hartopp, who has been expecting the wall to eventually fall, said he overheard conversations Adzema had with emergency personnel to confirm his plans with the construction crew.
He has had no problems with the business owner, he said.