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Jul 31, 2025

Building collapses this morning in St Marys-one man killed and another injured

To view St Marys Fire Chief Doug Ayers' Press Conference:
 
By Tony Heitmeyer:
 
UPDATE 4:30PM: At approximately 4:12 pm, after about two hours of searching and tunneling through rubble, crews located the missing man's body under fallen bricks that were being removed by heavy equipment. Observers were using binoculars to watch every move the excavation equipment made; as soon as the body was spotted, crews removed the remaining bricks covering the body by hand. The recovery was made at 4:23pm. 
 
The victim has been identified as Christoper R. Brown, 41, of St. Marys. Brown's body was transported to the Lucas County Coroner's Office, where an autopsy will be performed. The other man injured, whose name has not yet been released, was treated and released from the hospital. 
 
Investigators are still trying to determine if the men were inside or outside of the building when the collapse occurred. OSHA will also be investigating the incident. 
 
Due to the instability of the remaining part of the structure still standing, heavy equipment was used to demolish the rest of the building late Thursday afternoon. 
 
 
By Tony Heitmeyer:
ST MARYS, Ohio - Search and rescue crews are on the scene of a partial building collapse in downtown St. Marys, where a man remains missing. The collapse was reported about 10:30 Thursday morning at 305 East Spring Street.
One victim was pulled from the rubble shortly after the collapse and was taken to nearby Joint Township District Memorial Hospital, but as crews were searching for the second victim, additional parts of the building began to collapse, and St Marys Fire Chief Doug Ayers had to evacuate his personnel for their own safety.
The building, one of the oldest in the city according to Ayers, previously housed the Warhawk Tattoo Company; however, the business has been closed due to the structural integrity of the building. Ayers said the building's owner was in the process of having repairs made and getting the floor shored up.
Two people are believed to live in an apartment on the second floor of the building; however, they were not injured. It wasn't immediately clear if they were inside the building at the time of the collapse.
Specialized strike teams were called in to assist in the search. The Auglaize County EMA requested assistance from the State of Ohio EMA. They arrived on the scene shortly after 1 pm. Additional crews from Columbus, Xenia, Toledo, Moraine, and Greenville were also responding to help with search efforts.
Spring Street is closed for several blocks in St Marys due to the ongoing search and rescue operation.

 

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