Ceiling collapse temporarily closes business in Lackawanna County

OLYPHANT, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— A Lackawanna County business is cleaning up after a ceiling collapse damaged the building and the inventory.

“We came into some water leaking, and shortly after a ceiling collapse,” said owner Kim Evans, owner of theKIMMY.

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The Kimmy boutique store is a centerpiece business in the downtown area of Olyphant and at 11 a.m. Wednesday, the owner noticed parts of the ceiling panels were falling on her merchandise.

“It escalated quickly” . . . “We saw it come down” Evans said.

The panels and the water spilled onto her showroom products and ruined them including dresses and jewelry. As she was moving her merchandise away from the crash, more of the ceiling came falling due to the water leak above the panels.

“It was a scramble because I wanted to save as much spring and summer product as we could,” Evans voiced.

The Kimmy, located in downtown Olyphant, says they’re closed until further notice due to the structural damage, but the owner hopes to reopen as soon as possible and has a positive attitude.

“We’ve been through some ups and downs in business. I will get through this, we’ll be fine. We’ll build back, better,” Evans stated.

When firefighters arrived, they swept the building to make sure nobody was inside the apartments above the store and to search for any possible issues involving electricity.

“My guys checked all the floors to make sure all apartments upstairs apartments there make sure they were evacuated, etc. And then just checking to pinpoint and see what we have to shut down power-wise,” explained, Chief JT Tully, of the Olyphant Fire Department.

According to the Olyphant Fire Department, the building is safe to enter. The electricity is on in the building and the owner wants to reopen soon.

“We are a mom-and-pop business and we support other mom-and-pop businesses in the borough, and I hope people shop with us soon as soon as we clean up,” Evans said.

Firefighters say there was a tarp on the roof of the building and they believe water might have leaked in from there and made its way to the ground level store.

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