Philadelphia

‘It Just Fell Apart': North Philadelphia House with Pregnant Woman, Child Inside Caves In

A rowhouse in North Philadelphia caved in overnight while a pregnant woman, a child and other people were inside.

It started with a leak through the roof, house manager Kenyatta I. Lusk told reporters, and then about 1 a.m., the roof of the rowhouse partially collapsed, falling into the second floor and causing damage throughout the house. Water poured through the roof and floors into buckets around the house.

Lusk, whose bedroom took the brunt of the collapse, said the house, on Atlantic Street near 24th in the Tioga neighborhood, had been in good shape prior to the leak. He was not home at the time of the collapse.

"Before this happened, everything was up to code, the landlord was on top of everything, not a slumlord," Lusk said. "When I got here, there was water coming down ... and it just fell apart."

Lusk said a woman who is seven months pregnant and a 9-year-old child with Down syndrome were inside at the time, and that three other adults, including himself, also live there.

He said there were not any very serious injuries, but that his sister who was in the house at the time suffered a fall and was waiting to be checked out by medics.

"Very scary," Lusk said.

"I was just grateful I wasn't home, and then my concern was for the rest of the house," he continued.

The Red Cross assisted the displaced people. The Red Paw Relief Team also responded to help with a cat and kittens in the house at the time. Inspectors from the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections responded to the scene to investigate.

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