Building in downtown Carrier Mills collapses
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The building connected to Angel Scent florists collapsed about 11:30 a.m. Thursday, leaving a pile of rubble and a pile of problems.
Angel Scent was not damaged, but had to close due to the collapse of the building, which used to be the home of Field's Five and Ten store. Oak Street was closed shortly after the incident by Carrier Mills Police due to rubble in the road. The building's large awning is blocking Oak Street.
There were no injuries.
Angel Scent was open at the time. Tim Borum ran to the door when the building started shaking.
"I thought it was an earthquake," Borum said.
Outside, bricks were falling and the adjacent building was crashing down.
Borum grabbed customers and other employees and headed for the door.
Police Officer Chuck Welge was in the Mills Café when the building collapsed.
"The front beam went, and (the building) just went all the way down," Welge said.
Sheryl Hurd, who works at Fife Insurance on Main Street, heard a loud rumble and came outside to see what was happening.
"It just started rumbling and evidently the roof fell. The walls were shaking back and forth and all the dirt flew out," Hurd said.
The future of Angel Scent at that location is uncertain. The building was in the process of being sold, co-owner Carla Kirkland said. The buyer was there when the adjacent building collapsed.
"We were closing on Monday," Kirkland said.
The sale is put off, at least until the structural soundness of the building is determined. Angel Scent seems to be separated from fallen building by a fire wall, so it is not clear if demolition can be completed without damage to Angel Scent.
Mayor Louis Shaw, who now has another downtown problem on his hands, said some of the caps on the roof were gone, possibly after recent storms. Water possibly got into the building and weakened the roof and walls.
"I didn't think it would go like this," Shaw said.
Shaw is talking to a demolition contractor, who was expected to tour the building Thursday night and come up with an estimate.
The owner lives in Alabama - village officials will have to contact the owner and try to take quick steps to clean up the mess, Shaw said.
Village Attorney Fred Turner told Shaw the village can do whatever is necessary to preserve public safety, Shaw said. Therefore, complete demolition could take place relatively soon.
The building has had a long history. It was home to A.J. Henshaw's resale shop for several years. Before that, Chris Field had an electrical business in the building. It was home to Field's Five and Dime from about 1965 to about 1979 or 1980, Field said. The proprietors were Dude and Pearl Field, Chris Field's parents.
At one time, there were apartments upstairs. There was a central hallway and rooms on each side of the hallway, Field said.
The building may have been a hotel at one time, Bruce Gibbons said.
John Wasson said the building was the only location in Carrier Mills that ever had an elevator. A freight elevator was in the building at one time. Gibbons also remembered an elevator or elevator shaft being in the building.