Cleveland firm examining structural integrity of Youngstown building damaged by explosion

Youngstown city officials held a press conference Thursday to give an update on last week’s downtown explosion at the Realty building that killed one and injured seven.

The building housed a Chase bank on the first floor and residential apartments in the top floors of the building.

Here’s what we learned:

* Youngstown city officials are restricting access to the Realty building.

The National Transportation Safety Bureau asked the city to hire a third-party company to evaluate whether it’s safe for officials to enter the building to collect evidence. The city has hired Barber and Huffman from Cleveland to work with engineers from the building’s owners and insurance companies to determine the safety of the building.

“Public safety is first and foremost,” Youngstown Mayor Jamael “Tito” Brown said. “I can’t put a price tag on that.”

* Brown said he was pleased by the reaction from the community. He said the city is partnering with the United Way to support those in need.

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This story was originally published June 6, 2024 at 1:00 PM.