Published: September 11, 2007 11:56 am      

Collapsed building must be demolished

Cumberland gives three owners until Wednesday to take action

CUMBERLAND - The city of Cumberland has given the three owners of the collapsed building at 118-120-122-124 W. Oldtown Road until Wednesday to begin tearing down the four-unit building.

City Administrator Jeff Repp said the city will begin tearing down the structure Thursday if the owners have not already begun doing that themselves.

The owners include Ronald Rice, who owns the 122 location; Robert Pettiford, owner of 118 and 120; and Ruth Stonebraker, who owns and occupied 124 W. Oldtown.

At the same time, the city declared the adjacent structure at 126-128 W. Oldtown as unsafe. That property is also owned by Rice. The occupants were notified by the owner to immediately vacate the premises.

"We have marked the property at 126-128 West Oldtown Road as an unsafe structure. The owner now has five days to respond to the city with his plan of action," said Repp. The owner's options are to present proof that the building is structurally safe or to take action to make it structurally safe.

The collapse of the 112-year-old brick building at 118 W. Oldtown left four families homeless. A man and two children were rescued from a second-floor balcony after a large section of the structure collapsed shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday.

Repp also said tenants' concerns about the structure that collapsed would have been addressed by the city if it had knowledge about an ongoing problem there. He said the city will look at other structures throughout the city to determine if they are safe when they come to the attention of city officials.

The residential building collapse prompted a telephone offer of assistance Saturday from the office of Gov. Martin O'Malley to Allegany County Board of Commissioner President James Stakem, according to the county's director of homeland security.

The American Red Cross is continuing to assist the victims, according to Jody Miller, emergency services director for the Western Potomac Chapter.

"We provided emergency food, clothing and lodging to all three families on Saturday. On Monday morning we spoke with all of them to assess their current needs and to assist them with plans for relocation," said Miller.

The Salvation Army is assisting with additional hotel lodging, so the Red Cross has approved meals or groceries for the families while they are at the hotel. The families have been given landlord verification forms for payment or partial payment of the first month's rent, which will be paid as soon as they are able to secure suitable housing.

Miller noted that several local landlords have already offered assistance to the displaced tenants.

Cash donations to assist the victims - seven adults and 10 children - are being accepted by the Salvation Army. Checks may be mailed to P.O. Box 2467 in Cumberland or dropped off at 701 E. First St. Calls may be placed to (301) 777-7600 for further information.

Donors wishing to assist a specific family should specify that on the check. Immediate needs include temporary hotel placements, assistance with relocation and food. Two families are in need of immediate housing. Another family has a house to move to but has no furnishings.

Jeffrey Alderton can be reached at jlalderton@times-news.com.