Tuesday, June 15, 1999

Stores sop up damage

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Roof collapse forces closings

BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A worker carts a bucket of water Monday from the rain-damaged Elder Beerman store in Middletown. (Thomas E. Witte photo) | ZOOM |

        MIDDLETOWN - The Elder-Beerman store at Towne Mall was so busy Monday it looked like there was a major clearance sale.

        But the store was closed, and the people going in and out were not shoppers. They were crews working to clean up the damage caused Saturday when a large chunk of roof collapsed, sending rain water cascading through the store and a concourse of the mall on Ohio 122 near Interstate 75.

        Several smaller stores also were damaged to varying degrees. KB Toys next door had water in its store and was closed until 1:15 p.m. Monday. Other nearby stores, including Radio Shack and Bath and Body Works, had little or no damage, but the entire corridor was closed until Sunday. Bugle Boy, four stores away, had water flowing 12 feet into the store. It reopened Monday morning after an extensive cleanup Sunday, said Manager Janet Gross.

        Elder-Beerman store manager Kevin Lewis could not be reached for comment Monday. No damage estimates were available from any of the damaged stores, including Elder-Beerman, which Middletown fire officials said had damage to about 50 percent of its floor space from hundreds of gallons of water that poured in.

        Two Elder-Beerman workers were treated and released at Middletown Regional Hospital for minor injuries caused by flying debris.

        Dee Florence, secretary for the Richard E. Jacobs Group, owner/manager of the 22-year-old mall, said Elder-Beerman owns its building, and the other stores have separate insurance coverage.

        Elder-Beerman's doors were locked Monday, and covered with brown paper. Signs informed customers the store was closed.

        On Saturday afternoon, a roughly 40-by-70-foot piece of steel roof gave way, apparently weighed down with water from a thunderstorm, according to Middletown fire officials.

        Outside the store Monday, huge dehumidifiers in an area cordoned off by yellow police tape hummed as they pulled water from the drenched store. Trucks loaded with supplies, cleaning crews, drywall and equipment rolled in and out of the parking lot.

        Inside the Elder-Beerman wing of the mall, a damp, musty smell permeated the air. Large fans whirred in stores and in carpeted rest areas that were still wet.

        Ruth Shoupe was disappointed to find Elder-Beerman closed, but said she will come back another day.

        Workers at nearby stores described the Saturday scene when they heard a loud whoosh, followed by chaos.

        Patrons ran from the store and down the corridor screaming, said Jennifer Wright, manager at nearby Lane Bryant.

        “At first I thought someone might be shooting. With all that's been going on these days, you think of that,” Ms. Wright said. “Then I thought it was a tornado. Suddenly there was a river in the corridor. People came running in here looking for telephones and first aid. It was wild.”

        As Ms. Wright and other store employees fought to keep the ankle-deep water out of their store, women who had fled from Elder-Beerman's salon ran by.

        “Some had been having their hair colored, one girl had half her hair in rollers and the other half hanging down,” Ms. Wright said.

        Middletown Fire Capt. David South said he expects damage estimates will be available in a few days.

        “Luckily the department where most of the damage occurred was not a high traffic area, so injuries were few,” Capt. South said. “It could have been a lot worse.”

       

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