YOUNGSTOWN - In the hours and days after the Realty building exploded in downtown Youngstown last year, decisions needed to be made hour by hour. For the first time, Mayor Tito Brown is going in-depth about those dangerous moments and their aftermath. 

On May 28, 2024, Brown saw a sight he never thought he would as Youngstown mayor. Lights from first responders from all over the county that were on and off the clock rushed to the center of Downtown Youngstown. 

It wasn't long after that those surrounding the building realized someone was missing, Akil Drake.

“I think the biggest part of that is when we had to determine there was someone still in the building, and that was Akil Drake. And when we had to do the search and rescue, chief Finley, at that night, he told me, he says I'm not going home until I can find him and I said I'm here with you. There was probably a half a dozen of our team that was there,” said Brown.

Brown recalled those moments after the explosion as the hardest in his life as a public servant.

“When I had to tell that mother, or ask for identifying marks on her son, and tell her that was her baby in that basement, that was a really heart-wrenching part as a father, but also as a mayor that I will never forget,” said Brown.

Days of constant discussions followed. Conversations with the city, Realty Building owner, law enforcement, fire and safety, architects and engineers happened almost every day for weeks after the explosion.

“We decided as a city that our number one goal was the safety of those individuals, but also the building. And we put together a team, and we worked tirelessly. If you saw, we called in for fencing, we had a mobile command center, a trailer there,” said Brown.

Brown also said he spoke with stakeholders and business owners to see what next steps needed to be taken.

“We involved them all. And the harder part is telling the business that they had to close because of imminent safety issues. But also how do we start turning the corner, or what is next for their business,” said Brown.

During that time, tough questions came up about the building itself: Could the building be saved? Were there unknown dangers? 

“We said ’Well, could we save it?’ And most of the architects and engineers who came would not sign on and say you could save it. They would not do that,” said Brown.

Brown said he stands by the moves he's made, even though they haven't always been popular. 

“Some people say well you could've, you could've, you could've. And I think for me as a mayor, my main concern was the safety of the citizens. I'd rather arrow the caution of the safety and that building not collapsing,” said Brown.

The city visited the site almost daily for weeks after the disaster, and made sure that nobody was going on the property. In fact, Brown said it was their main focus until NTSB got involved.

“I'm proud of how we were, and even the leaders from NTSB said they've never seen a team come together that really have never worked in an explosion or crisis like we did,” said Brown.

When asked about the interviews from the NTSB report showing that nobody, including Charles Shasho, ever checked to make sure the gas line that was cut was not active, he pointed to Greenheart and Enbridge. 

“In the report that didn't mention anything with the city's fault. I think the conversations happened where who should have been in communication of that line, the owner back then or the owner right now, and Enbridge and Dominion,” said Brown.

Brown has also been in contact with owner Brian Angelilli about the future of the lot where the Realty Building once stood. He said he is open to ideas, and future discussions.

“Commercial on the bottom, residential on top, I welcome that. I want to make sure that we can see some development. I’ve had many of the residents from the realty tower say they would love to move back into that building at some point,” said Brown.