No injuries reported in incident

William Carpenter submitted these drone photos of the Main Oak Building collapse.

William Carpenter submitted these drone photos of the Main Oak Building collapse.

A delicate touch was used by the equipment operator to bring small chunks of brick down to the roadway below. (Ryan Kelly | Mount Airy News)

The D.H. Griffin crew was taking a short break around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday evening from tearing down the facade of the Main Oak Building on Main Street. (Ryan Kelly | Mount Airy News)

Workers were seen walking around the Main Oak Building Tuesday morning ascertaining the status of the structure. (Ryan Kelly | Mount Airy News)

Mount Airy Fire Marshal Chris Fallaw shared this photo of the ‘soft touch’ removal of debris that was needed Wednesday morning.

After doing some of the demo and removal by hand, the heavy equipment is seen back in use Wednesday morning. (Ryan Kelly | Mount Airy News)

As of 10:30 a.m. Main Street was still blocked off with traffic being diverted off of Main Street onto side streets, and officials say it likely will be until at least noon on Wednesday. Pedestrians were seen looking for alternate routes to get from one place to another. (Ryan Kelly | Mount Airy News)

From the Mount Airy Fire Department Fire and Life Safety Facebook page, this is one of the first photos taken of the Main Oak Building collapse this morning in Mount Airy.

To minimize the debris from spreading, the crew is hosing down the area. The water running from the site to the storm drain was a mixture of colors not usually seen running down the roadway. (Ryan Kelly | Mount Airy News)

On Wednesday morning crews were back at work. Oak Street is seen here with protective netting to prevent anyone from getting close to the demo site. A plume of dust is seen as bricks are knocked down from the upper level of the Main Oak Building. (Ryan Kelly | Mount Airy News)

The crew from D.H. Griffin moves slowly to remove debris from Main Oak Building Tuesday evening. (Ryan Kelly | Mount Airy News)

A view from Oak Street of debris in the road after the partial collapse of The Main Oak Building downtown. (Sandy Hurley | Mount Airy News)

A closer view of the damage to the partially collapsed building. (Sandy Hurley | Mount Airy News)

The roof and parts of the walls in the upper floors of The Main Oak Building downtown collapsed. (Sandy Hurley | Mount Airy News)

Crews in nearby Mount Airy were still working Wednesday to clean up debris and make safe the area around the Main Oak Building on Main Street, after the building partially collapsed in the early morning hours Tuesday.

Stokes County residents who have visited Mount Airy no doubt have seen the three-story structure, rising up at the corner of Main and Oak streets in the city.

Much of the work on removal of debris Wednesday was being done by hand. Mount Airy Fire Marshall Chris Fallaw said it would be “too tedious” to try and use heavier equipment. Care is being given to protect and preserve the buildings adjoining the Main Oak Building.

Main Street from Marion’s Jewelry to the Post Office has now reopened. Some businesses closer to the site like Olde Mill Music need to remain closed while they are inspected further.

Main Street remains closed from the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History/Oak Streeet to Moore Avenue.

Engineers are coming to inspect the site “once it is safe for them to go in” Fallaw said. The building’s integrity needs to be ensured before a more thorough inspection of the inside can be done.

Captain L. T. Whitaker with the Mount Airy Police Department said Wednesday morning that while the investigation is ongoing, there is no foul play suspected at this time.

The roof and much of the upper floor collapsed in the predawn hours Tuesday morning.

Surry County Emergency Management Director Eric Southern reported that the Mount Airy Fire Department rolled on the call at 4:26 a.m. Tuesday, after receiving a call about bricks falling from the building located at 248 N. Main Street.

Mount Airy Fire Marshal Chris Fallaw said first responders on scene heard “weird noises, creaking, and cracking.” These noises were only the pronouncements of what was soon to follow.

“While emergency personnel were on scene the building experienced a partial collapse involving the roof and Oak Street side of the structure. Emergency personnel on scene quickly established a safety perimeter involving multiple businesses and streets in downtown,” he said.

Surry County Building Inspections and Mount Airy Code Enforcement were called to the scene to assist with scene evaluation. Southern said a drone was requested from emergency management to get some aerial footage for inspectors.

As Fallaw pointed out Tuesday afternoon, even though space is seen between the Main Oak Building and the Oak-Emporium building, “Everything on this block is considered one building.”

Steel beams connect the impacted building to its neighbors, so any movement of one means the rest will need to be looked at as well. To that end Moore and Associates Engineering Firm and Sasser Restoration Company along with city officials assessed the building to develop an action plan.

The timing of the overnight collapse of the building was fortuitous, just twelve hours earlier could have yielded a vastly different result. As Tia Goins simply put it, “So thankful no one was injured, and this did not happen during the parade yesterday.”

The buiding was vacant at the time of the collapse, and there were no injuries reported.

“Friends, we are shocked and saddened by the partial collapse of the pivotal and historic Main Oak Building. Please stay away from the corner of Oak St. and Main St. today as the area is secured. Thank you for your understanding,” Mount Airy Downtown Inc. said in a statement Tuesday morning.

Lizzie Morrison is the Main Street coordinator for Mount Airy Downtown Inc. and found herself out of the area Tuesday when word of the collapse first broke. She said, “We are relieved to know there were no injuries reported and no loss of life occurred with the partial collapse of the Main Oak Building. We feel so fortunate that everyone is okay. At the same time, we are saddened by the sudden partial loss of a pivotal historic building in the Mount Airy National Register Historic District.”

“The Main Oak Building was built between 1905 and 1910 as the Midkiff Hardware Store,” she continued. “It is an invaluable and irreplaceable part of our history here in Mount Airy. The community and visitors alike will be mourning a monumental loss if the front facade cannot be saved. Preservation of our historic structures is of utmost importance to retaining the character, charm, and history of Mount Airy.”

The three-story structure, at the corner of Main and Oak Streets had changed hands last year, when long-time owner Burke Robertson sold the building to a Durham business known as Mt. Airy Once, LLC. At the time of the sale, Robertson said the new owners were planning to convert at least parts of the building into an AirBnB, supplying short-term rentals to tourists in town.

Two buildings next to one another that contain nearly 50,000 square feet between them were involved in the sale that took place in August. The Main Oak Building at the corner of North Main and East Oak streets is the building with the collapse in question today. At the corner of Oak and City Hall streets is Main Oak Emporium building that houses The Loaded Goat.

Construction crews had been working on the Main-Oak building in recent days.

There were dozens of people on Main Street standing in small groups and looking at the building Tuesday morning as crews from Mount Airy Fire and the city were examining the building. A crew was seen examining the building’s exterior in the alleyway between the Main Oak Building and the building that homes The Loaded Goat; there was no damage visible to the latter structure.

Grant Welch was downtown early this morning, as is often the case, and he said at 3 a.m. it was all quiet on the Mayberry front. He said he heard nothing of the building collapse and only knew something was amiss upon hearing emergency scanner traffic. By the time he arrived at the building to take a look, fire engines “were all over the place.” He did not attempt to gain access to the scene saying it is best to allow emergency professionals space to operate.

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