YOUNGSTOWN Deluged with rain, building housing business collapses

Onlookers scattered as electric lines broke free.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Rain may have washed a Boardman man's business down the drain.
John Weir, owner of Time Rental Center, 3003 Glenwood Avenue, was watching water rushing along Almyra Avenue after a downpour Thursday afternoon when he saw four sections of the sidewalk alongside his building buckle and collapse.
Then the water, which Weir said "was coming down the street like Niagara Falls," washed up against the side of his building, flooding his basement. Minutes later, "my side wall kicked out, we heard cracking -- it started up in that corner," he said, pointing to a rear corner, "and the roof caved in in one big crash."
Lawn mowers, chipper-shredders, diggers, and a variety of other power tools were buried under a heap of rubble. A console television, bicycles, miscellaneous furniture, and a window -- unbroken and still in its wooden frame -- were also visible among the mishmash of bricks, mortar and roofing materials.
Onlookers scattered as electric lines broke free of the crumbling building, sparks snapping from the live wires.
Neighboring business
"We were outside looking at the water, amazed at how bad it was flooding, when we heard the building creaking," said Rodney Seabrook, a barber at Ryan's Chair Barber & amp; Styling Salon across Almyra Avenue.
Salon customers and employees watched the cave-in. When the sparks from broken power lines started flying, they immediately cleared the salon's side parking lot, instructing customers to move their vehicles to the front lot along Glenwood Avenue.
Employees then climbed onto the roof and began sweeping the water off, said Kyle Gilchrist, salon manager.
Salon employees estimate their next-door neighbor's building collapsed sometime between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.
Power was restored to the salon and employees went back to work a short time later.
Weir, however, was trying to salvage equipment and hoping to find a way to secure what was left of his building. The portion that collapsed, he said, was used for storage and is not covered by insurance.
Decision on hold
He hasn't decided if he will rebuild. "I want to talk to the city first," he said. "I've been telling them there was a problem here for 15 years. I'll bet there's no dirt under the road. I'll bet it's all been washed away."
Weir said he has been in business at the Glenwood Avenue location since 1975.
Mike Damiano, who oversees building demolition for the city, said he has seen flat-roofed buildings collapse after heavy rains. "They load up with water and collapse under the weight, but I've never seen a sidewalk collapse," he said.
Because rubble covered the ground, Damiano was unable to inspect the section of sidewalk onlookers say collapsed.
kubik@vindy.com