A gas leak at a home improvement store in Mt. Pleasant could have resulted in an explosion, destroying half a block of East Main Street, said Mt. Pleasant fire Chief Paul Harenchar.
About six fire departments were dispatched to Renovation Nation, an auction house for building materials, about 11:20 a.m. Wednesday. A portion of the floor inside the building collapsed on a gas line shortly after the store’s closing around 10 p.m. Tuesday, Harenchar said.
The collapse was not noticed until Wednesday morning, said owner Dee Ankney, who purchased the store building, the former nonprofit American Architectural Salvage, in 2024.
Ankney’s mother, Debbie Ankney, opened the store Wednesday and noticed an unusual smell. About an hour later, she came across the floor collapse, which was concealed behind a stack of pallets.
“I started backing away because I’m deathly afraid of sinkholes, and this is a coal mining area,” Debbie said.
Debbie called her daughter, who was working at her Canonsburg home improvement store, to let her know about the floor.
“I said, ‘Mom, there’s a gas line there.’ She kept talking about the smell, and I started to put this all together,” Dee said. “I’m like, ‘There’s a gas line there. Get out of the building.’ ”
Columbia Gas had to shut off the gas meters outside the store before firefighters could enter, Harenchar said. He estimated about 90% of the building was filled with gas.
“There was enough (gas) in there, it would’ve taken up half this block,” he said.
A building inspector was scheduled to assess the store Wednesday afternoon, Harenchar said.
“The place will not be open until (the inspector) says it’s OK to go back in,” he said.
