8 rescued from collapsed Iowa building with history of complaints

Iowa apartment building collapses, prompting rescue and investigation - The Washington Post

Officials in Davenport, Iowa, said there have been no confirmed deaths since a six-story apartment building partially collapsed early Sunday evening, displacing the residents and prompting a multiunit response from emergency crews around the region.

“They’re the heroes of the day. They got people out of there, and they saved lives,” Matson said.

Investigators are expected to soon begin investigating the cause of the collapse; in interviews with local news outlets, several residents said they have long had complaints about the building, with one commercial tenant on the ground floor recalling residents warning her of a likely collapse.

Here’s what to know and the rescue efforts and investigation continues:

Are people still inside the building?

“No known individuals are trapped in that facility,” Davenport Fire Chief Michael Carlsten told reporters early Monday, though he acknowledged first responders had not yet fully accounted for every resident. He said rescue teams are working with the Red Cross to cross-reference tenant information with property management records.

“Not every tenant there had a cellphone or a second means to contact them,” Carlsten said.

Were people injured?

Officials declined to release information on how many people were injured or the condition of the victims who were hospitalized. The mayor said at least a dozen residents were able to walk out of the building with the help of rescue crews.

“A lot of people were escorted out, assisted by our wonderful first responders, immediately,” Matson said. “We’re hoping — praying — that’s how it’s going to stand.”

What phase is the rescue in?

After rescue teams worked through the night using a team of dogs trained in both live rescue and cadaver detection, Carlsten said most of the day will be spent on rescue efforts, which he expects will wrap up Monday.

“We are currently finishing the rescue phase of our operation, and soon it will become a recovery operation,” Carlsten said, reiterating they are still trying to determine whether any residents remain missing.

The fire chief noted structural engineers have warned his team that ongoing rescue work is risky.

“At this time, the building is structurally unsound and is posing a risk for responders,” he said. “We are actively working for the best course of action for the building. We have continued concern for the stability of the building.”

What is known about the building?

The six-story, 84-unit building at 324 Main St. sits on the southern end of the city, less than a half-mile from the Mississippi River.

Officials have not confirmed how many units were occupied or how many people were living in the building, nor have they indicated a reason for the collapse.

Richard Oswald, the city’s director of neighborhood development and neighborhood services, said at a Sunday evening news conference that exterior wall repairs were being done and that the building had a history of complaints by tenants; local news reports indicated residents often contacted the city with issues related to heating and air conditioning.

“The building owner did have permits to make exterior wall repairs that was under the direction of his hired engineer,” Oswald said. He described tenants as “pretty active,” calling the city multiple times with unspecified complaints about the building. Oswald said the city issued notices and orders for repairs on those complaints.

What caused the partial collapse?

Officials Monday said it was too soon to determine what caused the collapse, only saying it is now structurally unsound.

“There has been some complaints to the structure,” Oswald told reporters Monday. “We issued notice orders to have those repaired. The building owner hired their own engineering firm to direct them in the repairs needed to be made. Once fire releases the scene, we will begin an extensive investigation to find out what exactly caused it.”

What are residents saying?

One of the now-displaced residents told local reporters she began noticing problems before Sunday’s collapse.

Lexus Berry, 27, and her wife lived on the fourth floor of the building, where she noticed a hairline separation between one of her window sills and the brick. She said she found it strange, but ignored it until she saw the wall separate above the bathroom doorway on Sunday, according to the Quad City Times.

Berry snapped a photo of the crack before she and her wife, Quanishia White-Berry, started to leave.

“We both grab our cats, she grabbed one, I grabbed one, got to the door,” Berry told the paper. “I watched her, and everything just fell down and everything fell on top of me, and I barely made it out the door … I got out, but there was nothing left but where I was standing at. Everything else was gone.”

White-Berry was trapped in the rubble and rescued overnight.

Jennifer Smith, a commercial tenant on the building’s first floor, told the Des Moines Register she had noticed water damage inside the building; in December, their bathroom caved in.

“The tenants told us the building was going to collapse,” Smith told the paper.