March 23, 1999
Wall falls at burned building, damaging adjacent business
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
A falling wall at the scene of a March 16 fire at a Water Street building has not closed a nearby business.
Cleanup is continuing at the former Tiffin Wagon Works building at the intersection of Water and Harrison streets. Tiffin Fire Chief William Ennis Jr. said.
He said an eastern wall collapsed Sunday night, severely damaging the adjacent Seneca Sheet Metal building.
"We were afraid of that happening," Ennis said.
Dave Bauer, compliance superintendent at Seneca Sheet Metal, said the falling wall eliminated the building's truck garage, and tore a wall to a saw room.
A garage storage room used to store iron was buried in rubble, he said.
"We don't know what we can salvage,'' Bauer said.
A forklift was buried in bricks, but he said they hope to salvage it.
He said the damage was not enough for the business to shut down, but did hamper productivity.
Ennis said fire department investigators have left the scene.
"Our investigation is done,'' he said. "We turned the investigation scene back over to investigators."
The fire department is examining what was removed from the remains of the building, and Ennis said he hopes to have a report on the cause by Thursday.
Harrison Street remains closed to traffic. It was to be opened Friday, then Monday. Ennis said whenever the area is clear and safe, the street will be reopened.
"We've got a number of unstable walls,'' Ennis said. There is no danger to Harrison Street residents, as long as they stay behind the marked area, he said.