SUFFOLK, Va. — A three-story building collapsed on Washington Street in Suffolk on Sunday evening, Suffolk Fire & Rescue reported Monday.
From the air, you could clearly see what little was left of a brick building in the 300 block of East Washington Street.
Renee Roper-Jackson owns apartments next to the collapsed building.
“There to the corner is family property," Roper-Jackson explained.
Three people were forced to leave after the collapse Sunday because the apartments were determined to be unsafe because of damage.
No one was hurt.
The building was scheduled to be demolished, but the collapse was unexpected.
“I think that wall there, they were thinking of having it there as a support," Roper-Jackson said, laughing as she gestured to a wall of the collapsed building. "But I don’t know how much support it’s giving me now."
She also owns the barbershop next to the collapsed building.
She said the buildings date back to the early twentieth century.
“That was the place where I was born, and it was built by my family," said Roper-Jackson. "With one building having my name on it, it was kind of like seeing my whole childhood disappearing in front of me.”
Suffolk firefighters responded to the initial call about the collapse.
“Searches came up," Suffolk Fire Chief Mike Barakey explained. "There was nobody trapped, it was all clear. The utilities were already secured to the building, so we didn’t have to secure the utilities."
Debris from the collapse was scattered across the sidewalk in front of the building when firefighters arrived.
Barakey said these are calls the department is prepared for even though they don’t happen often.
“We train all the time for notice and no-notice style collapses, and different styles of buildings, too," Barakey said.
The city of Suffolk released a statement Monday afternoon about the collapse.
“As the demolition was ongoing for this building,there was a failure to one of the last remaining supports, which lead to its ultimate collapse. As it relates to the adjacent buildings, the demolition of this property revealed significant structural deficiencies the City was unaware of causing the structures to be condemned immediately as they were deemed unsafe.”
As of Monday, the Red Cross was helping the people who were evacuated, but if and when they will be able to move back in is unknown.
