'It's terrible': Old school building partially collapses in Lower Yoder Township

Apr. 12—Hundreds of bricks tumbled from a former school in Lower Yoder Township on Sunday, apparently taking the remainder of the blighted building's second floor with them.

No injuries were reported, Cambria County 911 officials said.

It's at least the second time in three years that bricks have fallen from the former school on Gilbert Street. This time, the falling bricks took several windows and the rest of the building's buckled roof with them, bringing debris to the ground next to the road.

Signs and bright yellow caution tape were set up as a barricade alongside the berm of Gilbert Street to warn people and motorists to stay away.

Anthony Miller, Lower Yoder Township deputy fire chief, said the department did what it could to address the immediate issue, but the building's condition remains a concern.

"It's terrible," he said. "Cars go racing up and down that street, and one of these days, someone's going to get seriously hurt when those bricks come down."

The department notified the township about the collapse, Miller said.

The property was owned for years by area property owner Nathaniel Myers, but online county property records show Myers sold the building to Lower Yoder Township for $200 in August 2019, just months after a partial collapse of its roof caused a temporary closure of Gilbert Street.

It has been decades since the building was used as a school, and it has been empty for years.