The Yazoo City Fire Department’s central station collapsed early Saturday evening with rubble from the historic building falling into Washington Street next to City Hall.
Fortunately, no one was inside the building when it collapsed. Portions of South Washington Street in front of the station remain closed as of press time.
Fire Chief Ricky Harris said the incident remains under investigation.
“God had to step in to get something done,” Harris told The Herald Monday afternoon. “By the grace of Him, no one was inside the building when this happened. My guys could have been upstairs or on that lower level. I am glad nobody was injured.”
“Getting something done” was what Harris said he wished would have happened sooner at the historic station which is connected to City Hall.
A meeting with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History was scheduled to be held prior to press time. Even though the building collapsed, MDAH regulations must still be followed due to the building being considered a historic structure. Temporary solutions and locations for city operations were also being discussed.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen also held an emergency special call meeting Sunday morning to declare “a local emergency in Yazoo City as a result of the extreme and perilous condition” of the fire station.
The Herald has reported on the conditions of the aging building since at least 2007 and again during previous city administrations prior to the current one.
More recently, The Herald reported on the condition of the historic building last August when city leaders declared a state of emergency at the station with the building literally falling to pieces in some areas.
The Board of Mayor and Alderman approved a declaration during that August meeting. But even with the state of emergency, the level of work and the associated costs that were presented to the board could have led to trouble with auditors, according to Board Attorney Lilli Evans-Bass.
During the August meeting, Mayor David Starling stated that the station was in dire need of multiple repairs. He said portions of the station’s ceilings were “caving in and bricks are broken.”
“The wall could fall in at any time,” he added, during that August meeting.
It was the bid for work that was presented to the board last summer that led to Evans-Bass stepping in. The lowest bid Starling presented to the board was in the amount of $630,000.
“You can’t do that much even with an emergency,” Evans-Bass said, during the August meeting. “You can’t approve anything of this amount.”
Looking at the proposal, Evans-Bass said the project included signage, roll-up doors and other items that could be seen as “non-emergency items.” She said the board needed to look at what could be done to make the structure “safe immediately.”
Harris told The Herald he was not provided with a time frame on the project following that August meeting.
Prior to this current city administration, a number of renovation projects and grant programs were announced with enthusiasm from previous city leaders. The scope of those projects will be investigated by The Herald to determine what was done and with what funds.
