Second downtown Sterling building razed in wake of fatal fire July 7

STERLING – A downtown Sterling building damaged by debris from a July 7 fatal fire that ravaged a neighboring apartment building was demolished this week.

The building at 304 Fourth Ave. was seriously damaged by falling debris during the fire at 406-408 E. Third St., sustaining a hole the size of a pickup truck in one wall.

On Wednesday, Patrick Burke of Burke Excavating of Tampico began the demolition; he finished Friday.

The building at 304, which was not occupied at the time of the fire, was owned by Jestun Gatz of Sterling, who also owns Silver Ridge Golf Course in Oregon and three others, as well as eight or so other residential properties in Sterling and Rock Falls.

Last week, Burke took down the burned-out shell of 406-408, also in three days.

The fire began on the third floor of the three-story about 2:20 a.m.; the body of Juan Antonio “Tony” Anaya, 62, was recovered July 11.

The cause of Anaya’s death was asphyxia from breathing the products of combustion, Coroner Joe McDonald said Thursday.

The two-story red brick at 304 was behind, or north of, another red-brick two-story at 302 Fourth Ave., due west of 406-408.

Three tenants at 302 were displaced also because falling debris destabilized that building.

It is owned by Kurt & Brian Properties LLC. The company still is waiting on reports to determine its fate, Brian Carradus said Tuesday. He and his partner, Kurt Studnick, also have their property management office in that building.

Like the building that burned, the fourth building on the block belongs to Mihail “Mike” Mihalios, 71, of Chicago. It is a two-story due east, at 412-414 E. Third St., and houses a laundry that Mihalios owns; the apartments were not occupied.

That circa-1920 building, too, likely was damaged as a result of the fire, but the city still has not heard the results of any inspection done by Mihalios’ insurance company, Building and Zoning Superintendent Amanda Schmidt said Wednesday.

It seems likely that both of the other buildings will need to be demolished, Schmidt said.

The building that burned had eight apartments on the second and third floors and 13 tenants. There were two vacant commercial spots on the first floor.

The ATF National Response Team is investigating the cause of the fire and has not yet submitted its report to the city.