Safe buildings

Cape Girardeau's downtown buildings are responsible for much of its character. These older buildings are irreplaceable assets to the city.

Most of those buildings were solidly built and can be expected to stand for a long time. But the recent deadly collapse of the Elks Lodge in Clinton, Mo., and spontaneous crumpling of an apartment building in Cape Girardeau underscore the need for cities to ensure their older buildings are inhabitable. Cape Girardeau is taking that approach by recruiting building inspectors, city staff, firefighters and business owners to join a committee that will formulate a plan for making sure the city's older buildings are safe and remain safe. The committee will identify existing problems and look for avenues to make any improvements that are needed.

The city inspects buildings in conjunction with the annual renewal of a liquor license or when remodeling occurs that requires a permit. Buildings that don't trigger inspections for those reasons can go many years without being looked at by a fire or building inspector.

In this case, to go looking for trouble is smart.