Jeffrey Alderton
FROSTBURG — Repairs were under way Monday at the Hotel Gunter at 11 W. Main St. following Saturday’s collapse of an interior section of the historic three-story building.
The 8:30 a.m. incident reportedly occurred without any injuries and displaced up to 28 tenants who occupied 19 apartments in the building. The tenants were evacuated and moved to local motels through assistance of the American Red Cross after the structure was temporarily condemned immediately following the incident.
Late Monday morning, hotel owner Jake Failinger worked feverishly to coordinate necessary repairs in order to get his tenants back to their residences as soon as possible.
“I’m working on everything right now. Harbel Construction is over there starting to work on the building right now. We’re trying to get it dried out. There’s a lot of moisture to deal with. I also have an electrician down there and a certified fire sprinkler and fire alarm man there,” said Failinger.
No estimates were immediately available concerning the damage to the building that contains 14 hotel rooms in addition to 19 apartments.
Failinger said efforts were continuing with city officials to arrange a time Tuesday during daylight hours when tenants could safely re-enter the building to retrieve some of their belongings. He also has been in discussions with his insurance company regarding accommodations for his tenants since the Red Cross assistance provided only three days of motel accommodation.
Repairs to the sprinkler system and the fire alarm system must be completed before tenants will be allowed to return home, according to Chief Deputy Fire Marshal Jason Mowbray of the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Frostburg building code enforcement officer Mark Monnett said Monday the integrity of the building was not compromised by the interior collapse, which he said covered a 30-by-30-square-foot section near the dining room. “The (Allegany County) collapse team did place some temporary stabilization support in that area as a precaution,” he said.
“Right now the process involves removing the debris and getting the building closed up from the weather and getting it to the point where you can turn the utilities back on,” said Monnett, who was meeting with various officials later in the day concerning the hotel recovery.
The building was temporarily condemned by the city of Frostburg since all utilities were shut off by the collapse. The fire marshal’s office temporarily condemned the structure due to the loss of the sprinkler and fire alarm system.
Failinger also expressed appreciation for the response to Saturday’s potentially life-threatening incident.
“I appreciate what everyone has done — the Frostburg Volunteer Fire Department has been a big help, the Red Cross putting up tenants in the motels and all the support we have received from the community,” he said.
Contact Jeffrey Alderton at jlalderton@times-news.com.
