Abrupt Building Collapse in Central New York Leads to Emergency Demolition

Crews are working hard to tear down another building that suddenly collapsed over the weekend.

Ilion mayor John Stephens alerted the public that the Duofold building on Spruce Street collapsed without warning on Saturday. Thankfully, no one was injured or in the vicinity when it occurred.

The mayor explained he came across the damaged building roughly 5 hours after part of it collapsed.

This marks the second building collapse at the complex, Stephens explained, as a different structure fell down on July 16.

That was building 3 while the most recent failure was at building 2.

"This is a huge issue and has warranted, per a Professional Engineer, myself, the Fire Chief, and Codes Enforcer to deem this complex unsafe and requires immediate demolitions of buildings 2 & 3," he announced shortly after it happened.

Emergency demolition work rolled out almost immediately due to the severe safety issue. The mayor also stressed the public needs to steer clear of the area.

Please be aware that this entire facility is private property, is posted, and anyone caught on premises will be taken into custody and charged appropriately. This is a dangerous area and is fenced for your protection and the protection of the crews and equipment on site.

Fencing has been erected around the site and police also will be patrolling the area frequently as an added security measure.

Mayor Stephens also noted that it is unknown when demolition work will complete and the grounds will be deemed safe. While crews are conducting emergency work, the mayor noted it "will progress as safely as possible."

"The Mayor and Village Board will use all means necessary to get assistance with this cleanup, and all state and federal elected officials will be notified," he continued.

The buildings at the complex had sat vacant for years, with recent talks about rehabilitating the area. These back-to-back collapses have since thrown that proposal off course.

"The status of the proposed development is unknown at this time, discussions will be held in the coming days with the developer and all those parties involved," the mayor noted.

The full press release about the incident is below:

This story will be updated as more information and status reports are released.

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