A complex containing at least two downtown Beckley, WV businesses was destroyed Saturday evening in an accident during demolition for a new Raleigh County judicial annex.

County officials said the final wall to be demolished had its “bottom blow out.” The wall crashed through a building not slated for demolition, heavily damaged a Beckley Fire Department truck and caused a gas leak on South Fayette and McCreery streets.

The intersection of South Fayette and McCreery was shut down except for emergency service personnel, spectators and affected business owners wondering how they were going to pick up the pieces — literally.

Clayton Terry, assistant county administrator, said county workers had been demolishing structures along South Fayette Street that were being torn down to make way for a new county judicial annex. While tearing down the final wall and working from its top, the wall’s bottom blew out — crashing through a building in the 100 block of South Fayette that was not slated for demolition.

The building’s right side was struck by that wall, and after the wall crashed into it, debris crashed all the way through to the left side, piling on top of a Beckley Fire Department three-quarter-ton pickup truck parked along McCreery Street, according to Terry.

Because of an engineer’s warning, Terry said county officials knew something could happen beforehand. The wall that eventually crashed was separated from its concrete foundation. The building owner was made aware of this, and the business owners and customers inside were evacuated.

“It’s a good thing no one was hurt,” Terry said. “Fortunately, we had the foresight to have the buildings unoccupied, so there was no chance.”

The building was known to at least contain Sean’s Classic Cuts barber shop and Deri The Taylor. Some at the scene believed additional operations may have been inside, but that could not be confirmed.

Beckley Fire Chief Kevin Taylor said no one was inside the department’s pickup truck when it became engulfed in bricks and various other debris. The 2001 Dodge Ram is a shift commander’s vehicle which had its windshield broken, camper top destroyed and bed piled with debris. However, firefighters were able to drive it away from the scene.

Taylor said the fire department was on standby during the demolition as a safety precaution. Both he and Capt. Gary Raines said people were nearby during the incident, but not close enough to be injured. For this, both men were extremely grateful.

“We are glad there were no pedestrians walking by,” Taylor said. “We can take this truck to a body shop, and it will be as good as new. We’re glad nobody’s hurt because it would have been much worse.”

Taylor said gas company workers detected a natural gas leak at the scene, and those near the destroyed building could smell gas. Getting to the cutoff valve was a challenge, though, because the valve was apparently underneath significant rubble on the building’s right side.

While authorities were working to keep spectators away from the building as a precaution, Taylor noted winds were dissipating the gas smell, and he did not believe the gas leak would cause an even larger catastrophe.

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