Miraculously, only two people suffered minor injuries and there were no serious injuries in the building that partially collapsed yesterday in the Bronx, leaving six apartments destroyed and visible from the street.reported the New York City Fire Department (FDNY).
The tragedy happened in 1915 Billingsley Terrace near Phelan Place in the neighborhood Morris Heights just before 3:40 pm on Monday and it was captured on video. A police spokesman described the scene as “chaotic” as First responders continued searching through the rubble for people trapped inside and outside the building.
The building had a history of violations for problems, although they were not structural, and there were scaffolding for construction placed outside. In March 2021, inspectors discovered unsafe conditions on the façade and cracked bricks, the Department of Buildings (DOB) Commissioner James Oddo at a press conference. At the time he had seven open violations, none of them structural, he stated, quoted by Daily News.
Before it fell, the scaffolding started creaking and then everything started falling apart… People were screaming”
Ahmed Bendary – Witness from a cellar
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No serious injuries were reported after a Bronx apartment building partially collapsed.
Firefighters worked for hours combing through the mountain of debris and found no victims, the FDNY said late Monday night.https://t.co/oTIJ936yvP
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) December 12, 2023
There were numerous people inside when the northeast corner of the 47-unit building built in 1927 collapsedauthorities said. The rest were evacuated after the collapse, which left Dantesque images of an entire row of homes with their walls destroyed, showing from the street rooms with sloping floors and ceilings.
“In front of the building where it collapsed is a large pile of debris,” FDNY department chief John Hodgens said at a news conference. “And we don’t know if anyone is trapped there, hopefully not.” Rescuers dug a tunnel through the rubble as safely as possiblehe added.
Firefighters worked for hours checking the mountain of rubble, which was 12 feet high in some places, and found no victims, FDNY said last night in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Miraculously, no one was seriously injured in the partial building collapse at 1915 Billingsley Terrace. Looking at the scene and the surveillance footage, it could have been much worse. We waited anxiously as @FDNY members methodically walked through the pile of rubble,” wrote the Commissioner Laura Kavanagh.
Two people suffered minor injuries while evacuating the building. “Firefighters are in a dangerous position right now,” Hodgens said at the news conference. “We don’t know what caused this corner of the building to fall and we don’t know if more will fall.”
“There is no timetable,” Hodgens added of the search. “We will search through the rubble until every piece is collected and we can see if there is anyone there or not.”
A man who works at a warehouse across the street watched as two men worked on the building, which was under repair at the time, according to DOB officials. “Before it fell, the scaffolding started creaking and then everything started falling apart,” Ahmed Bendary said. “People shouted”.
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For hours, FDNY members searched for potential victims of the partial building collapse at 1915 Billingsley Terrace. They have gone through a large pile of debris, 12 feet high in spots, and found no victims.
Two civilians sustained minor injuries during the evacuation. pic.twitter.com/hMo8tkyLG2
— FDNY (@FDNY) December 12, 2023
2023-12-12 14:34:37
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