A six-story apartment building in the Bronx partially collapsed on Monday afternoon. The building is located at 1915 Billingsly Terrace in Morris Heights. The collapse occurred around 3:30 PM.
The collapse left apartments exposed and damaged the lower floors of the building. Footage from the scene showed apartments angled down toward the street.
The New York City Fire Department received a call at approximately 3:40 PM. There were no immediate reports of injuries. The FDNY is using drones and dogs to search the area.
The building has been evacuated. The stability of the building remains in question. FDNY members were on the scene one minute and thirty six seconds after the call came in, OEM Commissioner Zach Iscol said.
The FDNY gave the address as 1915 Billingsley Terrace. The portion of the building which collapsed, however, is located on West Burnside Avenue, and the address was initially given as 172 West Burnside Avenue.
“We heard something, like, some people screaming across the street. So we go out to see what’s going on. We see this construction stuff start cracking.
There was two guys doing some construction up there. We see, like, big rocks start falling down. And then the whole building just fell down in, like, a second,” he said.
The FDNY said there have been no reports of injuries thus far but they are continuing to search the area. The FDNY is using drones and dogs to search the area.
“We will presume, with an occupied building, that there could be someone there until we eliminate that possibility,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh told CBS New York’s Maurice DuBois and Kristine Johnson. “We are doing everything in our power to make sure we can find them if they’re there, or to eliminate the possibility.”
Personal items, such as a hanging shoe organizer loaded with shoes, could be seen from the street below. A bed appeared to be crushed in one of the crushed rooms. A small jacket could be seen hanging on the wall of one of the rooms.
The base of the building has a sidewalk shed on it. The shed is now partially surrounded by an extensive pile of rubble. There was no immediate word of the number of people who are displaced as a result of the collapse.
Residents of the building were being directed to a service center at P.S. 390 up the block. The MTA also brought in four buses to keep residents warm.
“Any residents that need a place tonight, please go to P.S. 390. We will have teams there to help find you a place to stay for the duration of this event,” Iscol said.
