A ceiling caved in Wednesday at a bar on El Camino Real, trapping one man inside who managed to extricate himself with minor injuries, firefighters said.

The incident occurred a few minutes before noon at Bert's Alibi bar, formerly known as Ugly's, located at 1313 El Camino Real. According to Ben Yousefi, the city's chief building inspector, all but one man inside the bar exited quickly after hearing squeaking noises as the ceiling started to come down.

Firefighters arrived at the scene to find the man had already gotten out of the building. He was treated for minor injuries and did not require a hospital visit. No gas leaks were found.

"Basically there was plaster ceiling in the bar attached to bottom of the roof joist," Yousefi said. "Hanging from this ceiling was a suspended ceiling which had some additional elements such as wood framing and water piping. There was tremendous weight being supported by this plaster ceiling."

Because the adjacent convenience store has a similar suspended ceiling, both businesses have been "yellow tagged" to prevent people from going inside. The structure was originally built to house Johnny Mac's drive-in during the 1940s and is a cherished landmark to some longtime Mountain View residents.

Judging solely on what happened Wednesday, Yousefi said, "I don't think there is any cause for alarm in tearing the whole [building] down."

— Bay City News Service

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.