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Rescuers waded through a large pile of debris as the Fire Department searched for possible victims after part of a seven-story building suddenly collapsed in the Bronx on Monday afternoon.
There was no immediate evidence of injuries. “We don’t know if anyone is trapped down there. Hopefully not,” said John J. Hodgens, the department’s manager, at a press conference Monday night near the 46-story building in the Morris subdivision. Heights.
Chief Hodgens said officials did not know what caused the partial collapse. “We are looking for life,” he said. “This is our main goal at this time.”
First photos and videos show room in the corner of the house at 1915 Billingsley Terrace was exposed, almost as if the walls had been torn away. Evidence of lives interrupted by the collapse of a group peeked through the tangle of metal and wood.
On the street, the walls and bricks lay below the apartment buildings which showed in the cold afternoon.
Unique Edwards, 23, was walking down West Burnside Avenue to pick up her cousins when the house collapsed. “The thing came right down. Boom. Smoke and everything,” he said. “I was scared; it was scary.”
Maridelsa Fana, 50, a school bus driver who lives on the third floor, was waiting for a light when the building collapsed. He said he was looking for a place to park his empty bus when he looked in the rear view mirror and saw debris falling and heard what sounded like a big explosion.
He hit the gas, fearing the building would fall on the bus, and then jumped out the passenger door.
“I’m still shaking,” said Ms. Gun. “I thought I was going to die.”
The Fire Department said it arrived in less than two minutes and warned that its investigation of the crash is in its preliminary stages. Laura Kavanagh, the fire commissioner, said a team of dogs had been brought in to help find anyone who might be trapped. A drone was also deployed to assist in the search.
The emergency workers will remain “until we find someone or we confirm that there is no one under that garbage,” said Commissioner Kavanagh.
There have been questions about the safety of the building for years, according to building records. The ground floor has many shops, including a market at the corner of West Burnside Avenue and Phelan Place.
According to Fana, people have been complaining about the poor condition of the building for many years.
“People said that this place will fall apart in pieces,” said Ms. Gun. “But no one imagined this.”
He believes his apartment was not damaged but says he does not want to go inside.
“No one wants to live there now,” he said. “Nobody wants to sleep there.”
Flor Jimimian, who owns J&G Multiservices, a ground-floor tax preparation agency, said the decline occurred shortly after a major flood in the stock market. the first floor. Said Ms. Jimimian said that within 20 seconds of stepping out of the store to check on the leak, the side of the building collapsed in front of him.
“I’m lucky, now that I think about it,” said Ms. Jimmy.
Last month the Ministry of Housing issued a $2,400 fine to the owner of the house for “damaged and broken dirt” under the pallet that wrapped the land. The damage can affect the shelf’s “foundation stability causing it to collapse,” it reads.
The building is owned by a limited company, 1915 Realty, which purchased the property in 2004 for $3 million, records show. The company could not be reached for comment.
After Monday’s collapse, the city’s Department of Emergency Management issued a request for a structural stability analysis the site.
In 2020, the brick building’s facade was deemed “unsafe” after a required inspection by a structural engineer revealed “significant masonry damage in the facade,” including cracks in the brick The owner was ordered to repair the exterior; It was not immediately known Monday if the repairs had been completed.
The engineer’s report found that the damage was “usually due to age” as well as exposure to the elements.
“Everybody’s scared,” said Henry Grullon, 53, who lives nearby. “Everybody I know that’s in the houses that are here is like, ‘Oh, my God, my house is next door?'”
Maria Cramer correct report.