East Cherry Street is closed to through traffic after a commercial building at 2 South Vernon Street in Sunbury partially collapsed Sunday afternoon. No one was hurt, but officials say the building’s condition has continued to worsen.
The BTS&G Fire Department responded just before 2 p.m. Sunday to reports of a basement collapse, according to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Fire officials said a large section of the basement along East Cherry Street had failed, sending block, brick and soil into the basement and exposing part of the sidewalk.
Occupants of the Village Hair Company evacuated, and fire officials confirmed no one was injured. Crews later found cracks in the exterior brick facade and first-floor interior walls and installed temporary shoring to stabilize the structure.
Cracks Keep Spreading as Wall Leans Outward
Officials said new cracks appeared and the north wall began leaning outward, prompting them to close East Cherry Street and establish a safety perimeter. The area is restricted to local traffic.
Officials have classified the building as unsafe. A forensic engineer must evaluate it before its future can be determined, and the cause of the collapse remains under investigation. Officials have asked the public to call 911 if they notice visible changes to the structure.
Second Structural Failure in Sunbury This Year
Sunday’s collapse marks the second time this year a building on Sunbury’s square has been structurally compromised, per the same NBC4 report. In February, the roof of the Atlas Insurance building at 35 East Granville Street collapsed after heavy snow accumulated on it, according to the Delaware Gazette. One building occupant told the paper at the time, “Our roof collapsed at our office building due to the weight of the snow.”
Delaware County Code Compliance deemed the Atlas building unsafe for occupancy pending further professional evaluation, the Gazette reported. According to CitizenPortal.ai, the Delaware County Building Safety Office said it would review a structural engineer’s report to determine whether the building could be salvaged. Nearby businesses were allowed to reopen at their owners’ discretion.
A separate collapse followed a fire
A commercial building in Barberton partially collapsed after catching fire on Thursday, Sept. 18, according to WDTN. That collapse followed a fire; in Sunbury, the failure was in the basement, and its cause remains under investigation.
The two incidents are not known to be connected, and nothing in the current investigation points to a shared cause. East Cherry Street remains closed to through traffic as officials await the forensic engineer’s evaluation; the Atlas building was deemed unsafe for occupancy pending further evaluation, not condemned.
