Kaier’s Brewery nears collapse in Mahanoy City
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SENTINEL PHOTO - The scene near Kaier's Brewery in Mahanoy City on Tuesday afternoon, 3/7/2017.
MAHANOY CITY – North Main Street, Route 339, are closed, and much of Mahanoy City’s north side has been evacuated as the Kaier Brewery nears collapse.
Around noon on Tuesday, demolition crews working to demolish the borough-owned building discovered structural issues with the building, prompting crews to cease operations.
“At approximately 12:15 today, they started to deconstruct the building, started to take it down, and shortly after that happened, the building started to list, so they backed out right away and called in engineers.” David Truskowsky, Public Information Officer for the Mahanoy City Fire Department stated. “The engineers are currently evaluated the situation, but we had about 12 people that had to be displaced because we set up a 300 foot perimeter around the building, and they’re going to be put up in a hotel, thanks to the Red Cross.
Fire Officials say the building will come down soon, whether controlled or not.
“It is going to come down in short order, when that is, I’m not sure. We’d prefer it come down in a controlled manner” Truskowsky stated.
The Borough of Mahanoy City acquired the building, and received grants to fund its demolition and the construction of a park in its place. Demolition began in late February and was ongoing until today.
Throughout the day, bricks and debris could be seen falling from the building periodically.
Currently, North Main Street, Route 339 from Brandonville to Mahanoy City, and Park Place Road are closed to traffic.
Mahanoy City Police, Mahanoy City Fire, and Hometown Fire Police were at the scene to direct traffic and for crowd control.
The Kaier’s Brewery was operational from 1862 to 1967, and was once a regional landmark. The brewery has been abandoned since, and, unlike it’s Shenandoah counterpart, the Columbia Brewery, which also closed in the late 1960s, it has remained standing since.
Keep a check on this page or our Facebook page for a video story and photo gallery from today.
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