Coroner IDs man killed in St. Marys building collapse

ST. MARYS — The man who died in a building collapse in St. Marys on Thursday has been identified.

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Christopher R. Brown, 41, of St. Marys was identified as the victim in the collapse, the Auglaize County Coroner’s Office confirmed on Friday.

As News Center 7 previously reported, the other man who was trapped in the rubble was found by first responders and taken to a local hospital to be treated for injuries.

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The collapse happened around 10:30 a.m. in the 300 block of Spring Street. St. Marys Fire Chief Doug Ayers said it happened in what he believes is one of the oldest buildings in the city.

The search for Brown had to be temporarily stopped when conditions became unsafe for the fire department. From there, specialized crews were called in to continue the search.

Brown’s body was recovered from the rubble around 4:12 p.m.

News Center 7 asked Ayers what the two men were doing in or near the building.

He said his unconfirmed report was that they were asked by the building owner to shore up the first floor, which was starting to sag, and while they were doing that, the collapse occurred.

News Center 7 discovered there were concerns about the building that collapsed.

“The tattoo company left because of the wall bowing and the floor. So they were already concerned about some structural issues,” Ayers said.

News Center 7 spoke to Todd Klosterman, the building owner.

“We had an issue with the foundation, and we moved the people out of there. And we were working on the building to fix that issue,” Klosterman said.

He said the two men are friends of his and were working to get the building ready for repairs by a contractor.

OSHA is also investigating the collapse.

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