GIRARDVILLE - Sherri Yawornicky got a big surprise Sunday when she heard a loud noise and felt her Main Street home shake as a section of a dilapidated building across the street hit the sidewalk.
Yawornick and her husband, Peter, live at 16 E. Main St., Girardville, directly across from 13-15 E. Main St., where most of the front wall of the third floor collapsed. For more than two weeks, the top wall section of the building has leaned over the sidewalk, threatening to take out utility lines and endangering anyone who got too close by ignoring barriers and snow around the front of the building.
"It happened at 12:20," Sherri said, having looked at a clock at the time. "At first I thought it was an earthquake because it shook our house. We heard the 'boom' and the house shook. I also thought someone had hit our truck out front. My husband said, 'I'll bet you it's the house,' and we looked out and it was on the ground."
The three-story vacant building is owned by Terrence and Claudette Hodge. Borough officials have repeatedly tried to find the Hodges to get them to clear up the blighted property, but all efforts have been unsuccessful. Officials also raised concerns that the building could collapse toward the west, endangering Centiole's Pizza, 1 E. Main St., which is also the residence of owner Marietta Centiole, and another business, Vanity Boutique, 9 E. Main St., owned by Centiole's daughter, Kathy Centiole-Martone, which is located next to the Hodge building. To the east of the building is a vacant lot.
"When we looked, everything was on the ground," Sherri said. "What surprised me is that electrical wires run right across the front. We were preparing for it to fall and knock the wire down and affect the whole neighborhood, but it didn't knock out the power, which was wonderful. We were all waiting for it to fall and being careful where we parked because we didn't know which way it would fall. It was probably the wind yesterday. Nothing fell into the street. It just came straight down."
The west wall on the third floor collapsed inward and there is no roof or ceiling above the second floor.
Sherri said the Girardville Fire Department arrived shortly after the collapse and two utility lines still attached to the building were removed.
Fire department Chief Frank Zangari said Girard Hose and Rangers Hose companies responded.
"When we arrived, I made sure there was nothing on the street," said Zangari. "There some planks that were up against the barriers and I pushed them back in. The mayor took a few pictures of it because there's a court hearing on Thursday. We had two wires that were still connected removed. I believe they were old TV lines. We took them off the pole. Everything was secure inside. There was no PPL or utilities damage."
Zangari said the building is collapsing in on itself, with two stairwells - one inside at the west side and one outside on the east side - supporting the building.
"It looks like it's collapsing to the center. At this point, it has pancaked inward," Zangari said. "Thank God no one got hurt. The building did fall straight down. The fire companies were on scene for about 15 minutes."
Since borough officials have been unable to reach the Hodges, borough solicitor Christopher Riedlinger has been directed to obtain "powers of attorney" from the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas through a conservatorship statute that would allow the borough to demolish the structure. If obtained from the court, the conservatorship would make the borough eligible for county grant funds for demolition.
The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday in Courtroom No. 1 of the Schuylkill County Courthouse, Pottsville.
"From the way I understand it, it is very, very likely, a strong possibility, that the borough will get conservatorship of the building," said borough Councilman Joseph Chiaretti. "According to (county grant writer) Gary Bender, the bids for demolition will be put out almost immediately so that within 30 days, the building will be knocked down."
Chiaretti said getting the building down as soon as possible is important not only for the safety of Girardville residents, but also to have the structure removed for the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in March. He said Mayor Edward Burns has raised concerns about holding the parade, since it goes past the building and could be hazardous to parade-goers.
Chiaretti said there are also two cars inside the building.
"We're going to have them hauled away to a secure place and if they're not claimed in 30 days, we'll just junk them," he said.