Council approves razing of structure
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter Washington Fire Department Capt. Nick Blumer works at the scene of the building collapse on North Main Street in Washington on Wednesday.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter DowntownWashington, PA from North Main St. on February 22
Washington City Council thanked first responders Thursday who rescued a woman from a collapsed building Wednesday, and Mayor Scott Putnam said city officials have a message for landlords with substandard housing.
“We can no longer permit substandard landlords to operate in our city,” said Putnam during the regular council meeting. “I think we, as council, need to really step up and not take this sitting down. We really need to go after these people and take these buildings down that are a threat to our community.”
Council formally authorized tearing down the building at 15 N. Main St., which partially collapsed Wednesday morning, trapping 38-year-old Megan Angelone for nine hours before rescuers pulled her to safety.
“I want to join my colleagues in thanking everybody. When you have a situation like this, it really drives home a sense of community,” said councilman Joe Manning, noting the contributions of first responders from the city and as far away as Johnstown, and businesses including Vocelli’s Pizza, which donated hundreds of pizzas, and the George Washington Hotel, which opened its doors to emergency personnel and provided food and water.
“If you have any experience in this type of thing, what we witnessed yesterday was truly extraordinary. There were many different departments working under different commanders, and the level of cooperation and sense of working together to accomplish the goal, these guys were the best of the best. If you could have gone into that building and saw where they pulled this woman out of, that hole was not bigger than maybe a pizza oven and they worked for nine hours to get this woman out. It was just something I had never seen before and it was absolutely extraordinary, and something I’ll never forget.”
More than 100 rescue personnel responded to the collapse, in which a rear section of the roof and upper floor of the building caved in.
Putnam said the city plans to begin to raze the building Friday, after the city reaches indemnification agreements with the two adjacent landowners.
He estimates demolition costs will exceed $500,000. The city will incur additional costs for overtime for city police and firefighters.
North Main Street will be closed from Beau to Chestnut streets for at least four weeks, Putnam said.
“I can’t say enough about our first responders,” said Putnam. “Those guys worked tirelessly. I just thank everybody from our city forces, as well as everybody else who participated. It was amazing what we saw.”