By Associated Press - Sunday, March 2, 2014

DU QUOIN, Ill. (AP) - Engineers are inspecting an office building in the southern Illinois town of Du Quoin (dooh-COYNE’) after bricks fell from its facade and caused a gas leak.

The Southern Illinoisan newspaper in Carbondale reports that (https://tinyurl.com/kzgohys ) bricks fell into an alley on Saturday. Emergency officials are worried that more of the 135-year-old building’s facade could collapse if more snow falls and ice forms.

Du Quoin Fire Chief Bob Shaw says more snow could add a lot of weight to a building that’s already distressed.



Gas began to leak after falling bricks separated the gas regulator from the meter of the downtown building, but the leak has since been shut off.

Nobody was in the alley when the bricks fell.

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Information from: Southern Illinoisan, https://www.southernillinoisan.com

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