Mattoon building collapse - Nathan Ward photo 2

MATTOON, Ill. (WAND) - An employee of a smoke shop that collapsed in Mattoon Thursday said she is grateful she was able to get out in time and avoid injury. 

Stephanie McKittrick talked with WAND News Reporter La'Miya Starnes and said she was inside The Joint Smoke Shop at North 19th Street and Western Avenue in Mattoon when it collapsed around 1 p.m. Thursday.

In Mattoon, what was once a place where you could get your nails done, get a haircut, or even visit a tobacco store is now a pile of bricks and debris after a building collapsed.

"I was inside the smoke shop and the drywall seemed to pull away from the inside of the building," McKittrick said just a few feet away from the rubble.

"I'm just so grateful that I was able to get out, like my Little Caesars friends were able to get out, and that we're all good," McKittrick continued.

She said she went outside when a window busted and saw other parts of the building collapsing. She went next door to alert people at a Little Caesars who all came outside. McKittrick said they called the owners, she made another check of the building to make sure no one was inside, and then the building collapsed.

"It sounded like you're in the middle of a forest and the trees are just snapping."

Despite the chaos, many in the community stepped in to help amid the chaos, including Ameren and Charleston's collapse unit.

"That's one thing that we love about Mattoon: anytime something does happen, we have great communication. We've got good citizens, good department heads that come in, jump in, and we help each other," said Mattoon City Manager Kyle Gill. 

Firefighters respond

Mattoon Fire Chief Jim Hilligoss said there are no reported injuries and they did not believe anyone was inside the building. Firefighters were expected to do a more thorough check of the building once a gas leak was secured. 

The building also housed a nail business and hair business, but there appeared to be little to no damage in that area. It's unknown how the building collapse may impact safety in those businesses. 

Mattoon building collapse - Nathan Ward photo 1

Onlookers survey the remnants of a collapsed building in Mattoon.

Mattoon Fire Station No. 1 sits diagonally to the building and firefighters responded in one minute after the collapse.

"I initially thought a vehicle ran into the building," Hillgoss said. "It wasn't until I got over there up close that you could see the entire building had collapsed."

Hillgoss said that after the collapse, there was a large plume of dust. 

PHOTOS | Click for a gallery of images of the Mattoon building collapse

It's unclear what caused the two-story building to collapse. 

The Mattoon Fire Department and the building's insurance company will conduct investigations to determine the cause of the collapse. The tobacco store will have to be completely torn down.

Road closures

The City of Mattoon posted on Facebook that several roads around the building were closed. The road closures include:

  • Western between 19th and 21st
  • Prairie between 19th and 20th

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