Two Buildings Partially Collapse in St. Louis
Source St. Louis Post Dispatch
ST. LOUIS • Firefighters in St. Louis responded to two partial building collapses within about two hours on Friday. Nobody was hurt.
One building, at 2020 North Broadway at Madison Street near the Mississippi River, partially collapsed at about 5:30 p.m.
Robert Cotton Sr., 47, who works in a warehouse nearby, was driving by the building when he heard a huge crash. “I thought I hit something. I looked and I thought, holy (expletive) a wall fell.”
Bricks and rubble spilled onto the street. He went to a nearby firehouse, but nobody was there. He then called 911.
The fire department's collapse rescue task force responded and utility workers cut off the power and gas.
Firefighters believed the building was vacant, but Cotton said he has seen lights on in the building. Books on shelves were visible from the street.
About two hours earlier, firefighters responded to a home that partially collapsed in the 8600 block of Annetta Avenue in the city's Baden neighborhood. The roof of the 1½-story brick home collapsed on the upper half story, said St. Louis Fire Department Capt. Garon Mosby.
Neighbors told firefighters at least two adults lived at the home but nobody was home at the time. No other properties were affected. The building has been condemned.
Valerie Schremp Hahn • 314-340-8246
@valeriehahn on Twitter
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