Members of the Agape Worship Center were praying on the top floor of Kramer Roof Sunday afternoon. A little while later, Jubilee Performing Arts Center students met before going to an awards ceremony in Jackson, where the school’s choir had been nominated for an honor. They were all completely unaware that upper half of the building would be reduced to rubble in a matter of hours, and it was just by chance that no one was there when it did come down.
The third and fourth floors of the building on the corner of Main Street and Broadway collapsed around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, with city officials speculating the combination of old age and rainy weather did it in.
No injuries were reported.
Bricks toppled, ending up on sidewalks on the opposite side of Main Street, crushing a minivan and damaging at least one other car and blocking all lanes of traffic on Broadway and Main Street.
Dozens of residents flocked to downtown McComb to witness the loss of the 97-year-old landmark building.
Much of downtown remained off limits at least through the rest of today until city officials can determine what risks the remains of the structure pose to public safety.
McComb Mayor Whitney Rawlings said this morning that the city has contacted structural engineer Jeff Laird of Jackson-based Laird & Smithers to assess the building — a process expected to take at least several hours. With the engineer’s report, city officials will be able to determine next steps.
Rawlings said the removal of debris will not begin until it is safe to do so.
“There are third-story walls still standing, and we can’t start moving anything around yet,” he said.
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Agape Pastor Sam Alexander said his church’s first service ended around 12:30 p.m., and congregants saw no signs that anything was wrong.
“There wasn’t anything unusual yesterday,” he said this morning. “It’s really mind boggling.”
Alexander said he cancelled evening services at 6:30 because of attendance.
“God knew exactly what I didn’t know — if I hadn’t cancelled, we would have been in service right around the time when the building came down,” he said.
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A few hours after Agape’s service ended, the Jubilee Performing Arts Center chamber choir practiced before going to the Jackson Music Awards to perform.
Josiah Scott, 17, a senior at JPAC, said the choir left around 3:30 p.m.
He said JPAC director Dr. Terrance Alexander (the pastor’s brother) told the students about the collapse before they went on stage.
“We didn’t know if he was being serious or speaking metaphorically,” Scott said. “We weren’t really sure. We were shocked but we brushed it off and performed.”
Scott said students went to go look at the school after they returned to McComb.
“We went by and got as close as we could. I was kind of shocked,” he said. “It was different seeing it in person as opposed to seeing it in pictures. Seeing it there makes it more unreal to see the building and to think I was there three hours before it fell. It’s almost kind of scary.”
Scott said he’s hopeful he’ll be able to finish out his senior year at JPAC.
“I think we’ll still be able to attend, but I’m not exactly sure where we’ll be,” he said.
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About 21⁄2 hours after the JPAC students left the building, Carolyn Dillon-Ross of Gulf South Realty went to her office next door to pick up some paperwork.
As she opened the door to go inside she remembered she left her parking lights on.
“I turned around to cut off my lights and I saw bricks just fall in the street,” she said. “It was just this thick white dust, and I couldn’t breathe. It was like I had asthma.”
She said she recognized a mini-van belonging to Michelle Nelson, the mother of a JPAC student, beneath the rubble.
“I called Michelle and she told me that the students were in Jackson,” Dillon-Ross said. “After that, I got me some yonder.”
She ran for safety and called 911, but as she was speaking to a dispatcher she could hear emergency vehicles coming up the street.
“I’m just glad no one was in there,” she said.
Other cars lining Main Street were covered in dust and debris after the collapse. Dillon-Ross said she didn’t know the condition of her car. “I was getting some get-up-and-go. I wasn’t worried about that car,” she said.
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As city officials speculate the cause of the collapse was related to its roof, Alexander, who also is a JPAC board member, said school officials recently had a company on the roof fixing the air conditioning but contractors saw no signs of problems.
With school beginning in less than two weeks, he faces the task of finding a new building.
“We will rebuild. I’m out this morning looking for a new location,” he said. “Lord bless, we’ll be ready before school starts. I know that sounds like a sheer miracle, but we’ve been here before.”
Kramer Roof was one of many buildings JPAC has called home since Alexander's brother Terrance founded it in 2009.
He said wants people to continue to pray for the school and think positive.
Tonnetta Todd-Lenoir’s son Edward Todd, 12, began JPAC his first year in 2016.
“I’m just in shock. Since my son began attending JPAC, I see the difference in him,” she said. “It’s a great spiritual school with a great staff and great leadership.”
The school’s choir won the Community Church Choir of the Year award on Sunday.
“It’s uplifting to know that we won the award,” said Scott, the JPAC student. “I’m just glad that no one was in the building. Thank God. He knew that it was going to collapsed and He knew that he was going to spare all our lives.”
