Several residents were evacuated on Monday after officials announced their South Philadelphia homes were in danger of collapse.
Officials recently demolished a home on the 1800 block of Carpenter Street in South Philadelphia. As contractors were working on the foundation of the site Monday night, they discovered that the two homes on each side of it were beginning to crumble and on the verge of collapse.
“I went inside the house and there were cracks all in the walls,” said a woman who lives in one of the damaged homes and did not want to be identified. “Both on the side that’s falling down and the opposite side of the house.”
A wall in one of the damaged homes is currently being supported by beams. On another side, cracks in the wall are undermining the home’s foundation. A second home on the left side of the construction site has fractured walls, according to a sign from Licenses & Inspections.
L&I officials deemed both homes unsafe and the families were forced to evacuate. The displaced families are currently being assisted by the American Red Cross.
NBC10 contacted L&I to find out who was responsible for the damage. We have not yet heard back from them.
