Strong winds cause partial collapse of Dayton building; roads closed throughout weekend

The facade of a high-rise building in downtown Dayton is crumbling and falling debris has caused Dayton fire crews to evacuate the Stratacache Tower, out of an abundance of caution.

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News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson spoke with a man who lives across from the crumbling building.

“I heard a big boom while I was in the kitchen. I ran outside and saw smoke coming from the lower portion of the Stratacache building and I wasn’t sure what it was,” Mike McKiernan said. “It looked like fire at first, but then the wind came, blew it away, dust cleared and I wasn’t sure what happened.”

>> PHOTOS: Portion of downtown Dayton high-rise crumbling

According to a spokesperson with the Dayton Fire Department, the parapet wall on the top floor of 34 N. Main has had 60 feet of collapse.

“And then we saw that the building adjacent to it, the top portion of it had fallen in, fallen or collapsed or who knows what happened,” McKiernan said.

The building has been vacant for a number of years, according to fire crews, and was likely damaged by strong winds.

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Pieces of the facade are falling onto the Stratacache Tower. So far, some of the Stratacache Tower windows have been broken, but there have been no injuries.

“We still have some unsupported parts of the parapet wall,” District Chief Nick Judge said. “We are fearful with the weather coming through with the wind, we’re going to lose more of it tonight.”

Pictures captured by News Center 7’s Taylor Robertson show that part of a building has a hole from above a window to the roof.

N. Main Street between E. Second and E. Third Streets is closed, and will likely remain closed throughout the weekend, according to the Dayton Fire Department. Some sidewalks in the area may also be closed.