Historic Meriden building torn down after partial collapse
By Evan Sobol, Eliza Kruczynski, Marcy Jones and Rob Polansky
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MERIDEN, Connecticut (WFSB) — A historic but unoccupied building in Meriden was torn down Wednesday night following a partial collapse.
Meriden firefighters said they received a report of a building collapse around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Meriden police said Broad Street was closed between Liberty Street and East Main Street.
They said the building collapsed on its own after being vacant for more than a decade.
The building inspector arrived shortly after crews arrived on the scene and decided that the building needed be demolished.
No injuries were reported.
“The building was unoccupied for quite a while. I’ve been told it’s been unoccupied a fire in 2009-2010,” said Chief Ken Morgan of the Meriden Fire Department.
Morgan said there was no danger to neighboring buildings.
“Gas has been secured through the building that’s occupied on the other side of it,” he said.
Neighbors told Channel 3 that they were surprised when they saw the building start to collapse.
“It’s been vacant for years. It caught on fire, so it’s been vacant, but I wasn’t expecting this. It’s crazy,” said John Colon of Meriden.
Morgan said Meriden firefighters had been keeping an eye on the building for quite some time.
“They do mental plans, but I’m not really sure if they made a plan on what to do if it collapses,” he said.
Investigators said they are still looking into exactly what led to the partial collapse in the first place.
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