by Geoff Fox & Kate Shunney
A reported collapse of the interior of a building on Main Street in Hancock drew first responders from Hancock, Washington County, and Montgomery County on Monday morning, March 25, around 11 a.m.
The building, located at 55 West Main Street, is owned by Kenneth Apple of Falling Waters, W.Va. and is one of at least four buildings he owns in Hancock.
photo by Geoff Fox
Emergency officials said they believe part of the building fell in on itself over the weekend. Town officials called in first responders to check for any possible occupants in the structure and make sure the property didn’t pose any public dangers.
Units were on the scene for multiple hours, including a tactical search group and search dogs.
No one was injured or found inside.
It was determined by Hancock Fire Chief Robert Hoopengardner that local firefighters couldn’t enter the building safely, Town Manager Mike Faith said.
Initial responders confirmed the interior collapse with unknown severity or degradation of the building.
photo by Geoff Fox
The town has been trying to work with Apple to address the condition of this and other of his buildings inside town limits.
According Town Manager Mike Faith, the building itself has had issues over the years and hasn’t been secured in that time. The building owner had been notified on numerous occasions of the hazards associated with the structure, Faith said.
Faith said there have been vagrants, young people, and evidence of drug use in the upstairs area along with graffiti and vandalism.
“The building was secure for a while, then they’d kick a door in,” Faith said.
Faith, and Director of Emergency Services Director David Hays, said the collapse happened sometime over the weekend, with the second floor collapsing into the basement.
“So the building, structurally, is totally compromised,” Faith said.
There had been concern there might have been someone inside, but a search by crews from Montgomery County indicated no one was on site.
Faith said the building is so unsafe, it will be demolished, possibly within the next few days.
“The property owner would be responsible for the cost of that,” Faith said.
When the building is demolished, there could be some traffic delays on Main Street.
Faith said water had been cut off for some time to 55 West Main Street due to no tenants. The building is heated through oil, so there’s no natural gas connection to that building, but there are gas connections to the neighboring building.
No evacuations were made during the incident.
Faith said Town Councilman David Kerns was also on scene with the Washington County Inspections Unit. Councilman Josh McCusker was also on the scene.
Faith said he contacted Chief Rich Miller about an appropriate response to the condition of the building when it was discovered.
photo by Geoff Fox
Hays said from that point, additional resources from the county and the county’s Emergency Services office and county permits and inspections unit. They also requested the units from Montgomery County’s Technical Collapse Unit. Fifteen individuals and “four or five” of their special apparatus responded to Hancock.
Two K-9s were brought in to search for any possible human occupancy that wouldn’t have been able to evacuate and also access where humans couldn t access.
Hays said the building was cleared and the scene turned over to the county.
“Our suspicion is that the collapse is at least a day or several days old,” Hays said. “We’ve come to that conclusion because the air was clear when we went in.”
Hays said when there’s a collapse, there’ s particles still suspended in the air and nothing was seen.
Responding units were from Hancock Police, Germantown, Hagerstown Ladder, Funkstown, Washington County Emergency Services, Washington County Special Operations, Hancock Fire, Hancock Rescue Squad, Halfway Tower Rescue, and Washington County Rehab. There were also many bystanders watching first responders. MDOT vehicles were also on scene.
Main Street was reopened around 3 p.m. on Monday.
photo by Geoff Fox
