Crime & Safety
Support Wall Buckles in Szechwan Restaurant Building in St. Charles
No one is injured; Cause is unknown at this time.
A basement support wall buckled Monday night inside a more than 100-year-old downtown building.
As of 10 p.m., St. Charles firefighters remained at the building, located at 117 W. Main St. A structural engineer was called to access the extent of the damage.
No one has been reported injured. Several businesses that occupy or are connected to the building, including Szechwan Restaurant, were closed when it happened.
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Chief Patrick Mullen of the St. Charles Fire Department said there was a failure of the support structure in the building.
A cause was not immediately available but several support beams holding the second floor of the building had buckled along with the wall. A bowing of the second floor is visible from the first floor windows.
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The parking lot near the restaurant was evacuated while officials examined the damage.
Szechwan Restaurant owner Nancy Chen said she was unsure how long her business would be closed because of the incident. Szechwan opened 23 years ago this October.
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