Behold the recent ruins of the dry cleaners in downtown Mexia. The building just collapsed on 7/30/12, kind of like this one, which is down the street. Fortunately no one was hurt.
From the Mexia Daily News:
Collapsed business' future uncertain
by Roxanne McKnight
(Posted Thu 08:00 am)
Although the building that housed Nabors Cleaners in downtown Mexia collapsed without warning Monday evening, there’s good news for those whose clothing items were there.
Owner Dave Fitte said the clothing on the premises was in the back of the building, which is least damaged, and is asking customers whose clothing was being cleaned to contact him at 254-625-0693 to make arrangements to retrieve their property.
Andrew Taulton witnessed the collapse and said there was no warning when, about 7:25 p.m. July 30, the walls of the building, located at 209 E. Main St., fell outward, the roof fell in and the front facade tipped forward and landed across the sidewalk and in the street.
“I was standing there at the car wash,” Taulton said, “and I heard a noise like some tin was rattling, and I looked over here and I could see the front windows – the plate glass – were just starting to vibrate. It was just vibrating, and I saw the side – I thought somebody was in there and was running out the side. And then all of a sudden, it just collapsed, that was it. It took about five seconds. I didn’t see nobody around and that’s what worried me. I thought maybe somebody was inside.”
Rick Washington was at the car wash with Taulton and also saw what happened. He said that when the building fell “in about 15 seconds,” a cloud of dust shot out from the site.
“You couldn’t see the bank or the sign shop at all,” Washington said.
Mexia Police personnel and Mexia Fire Department first responders arrived on the scene almost immediately and cordoned off the area with caution tape.
Fitte was called and appeared at the scene, too. The building was closed and no one had been in it that day, because Fitte and his wife were about to leave on vacation.
Fitte attributed the collapse to the sheer age of the structure.
“It’s a 100-year-old building,” he said the following day. “It just got tired, I guess.
Before
(Thanks Nicholette!)
