BERWICK, Pa. -- Most people in Berwick know the building as Geppetto's but the former party store at the corner of West Front and North Market Streets was sold and has been empty since 2013.
Now, the sidewalk in front of the building is closed until further notice.
"The tape right now is precautionary, but we just didn't want to take a chance," said Berwick Mayor Tim Burke.
Mayor Burke tells Newswatch 16 the borough never worried about the structural integrity of this building until Wednesday. That's when a community member called with a concern.
"They just said they saw an issue with the roof there and they just thought it should be checked," said the mayor.
Less than 24 hours after getting the call, a codes enforcement officer, an engineer, and the owner of the building walked through the space.
Now, the borough is waiting to hear if repairs need to be made to the building.
City officials tell us when they got the tip, they reacted immediately, especially considering a building down the block collapsed last week.
"Priority number one is safety, so that's why the response was titanic," Mayor Burke said.
What's left of the former Masonic building now sits in a pile. A team is working to clear the lot after the building partially collapsed last week.
Several people were injured.
Folks we spoke with believe this collapse is the reason a community member was quick to call about the roof of the former Geppetto's building.
"I honestly think people are so self-conscious of this. You don't expect a building to fall. People are looking up as they are driving. I find myself doing it," Burke added.
"Given the tragic way that building collapsed and what ultimately happened with that, I think they are being more vigilant now as they move through the town in hopes of preventing some other tragedy like that," said resident Tawnia Converse.
We spoke with the building owner's attorney. He says there has been an ongoing legal battle over the building and issues with the roof were supposed to be fixed before he officially bought the building.
The borough hopes to have the results of the walk-through by next week.