BUFFALO, N.Y. — It was around 11 a.m. Friday when a building in downtown Buffalo partially collapsed.
"We had to bring in demolition teams because the building is so far gone and structurally unsound. Unfortunately, as much as we try to save these, we were not able to save this one," Buffalo Fire Division Chief Michael Tuberdyke told 2 On Your Side on Friday.
Demolition on the three-story building at Genesee and Oak streets began Friday afternoon. Crews worked into the night and picked up again Saturday morning.
"Eventually the whole building will come down. Today the plan is to get at least three-quarters of it down. There will probably be one wall still remaining," Tuberdyke said.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown weighed in on the collapse at an event Saturday afternoon. He said the city addressed the building's poor condition with the previous owner.
"We were able to put enough pressure on the previous owner that he sold it to a responsible individual. Unfortunately, the deterioration had gone so far that it resulted in the collapse that we saw just (Friday)," the mayor said.
Brown added, "We are going to continue to monitor all of the vacant, dilapidated structures with problem-property owners and put pressure on them to either do the right thing or sell the properties to responsible individuals."
As for what's next with the collapsed building, Brown said work is expected to pick up again on Tuesday, and Tuberdyke told 2 on Your Side he suspects the demolition and clean-up effort will wrap up likely by midweek.