COLUMBUS — A city inspector says a historic house is unsafe after a gas explosion and fire earlier this week in Ohio.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The Kelton House Museum & Garden has been declared unsafe after reports of a natural gas leak led to an explosion in Columbus on Monday.
Our news partner, WBNS in Columbus, reports that city inspectors said that the building is “unsafe” after an on-site evaluation on Tuesday.
As previously reported by News Center 7, the Kelton Museum is a 19th-century home in the Discovery District, serves as a museum and educational center, with ties to the Underground Railroad.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Hundreds displaced after addiction treatment center loses Medicaid funding; Owner federally charged
- House fire deemed suspicious in Dayton neighborhood
- Police searching for 3 suspects accused of 2 different thefts at Spirit Halloween
Columbus city inspector Marvin Marcum told WBNS that they found “major structural and water damage” throughout the property.
“We did declare the building unsafe, which means that you can’t occupy it,” said Anthony Celebrezze, deputy director.
He told WBNS that their inspector could not get to all three floors due to debris that was on the stairs.
Celebrezze said the city has not issued an emergency unsafe order, which meant it would have required the building to be torn down.
“We don’t feel that there is a threat of collapse of the main building, and so that’s why we only issued an unsafe instead of an emergency unsafe order because an emergency unsafe order would’ve required them to knock it down,” he told WBNS.
Celebrezze added that Kelton House remains a vital part of Columbus’ history and is worth preserving.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
