LA Firefighters Respond to Structural Collapse
Source Firehouse.com News
New Orleans firefighters responded Monday after a residential structure suffered a complete "pancake" collapse, injuring three workers and a nearby resident.
The New Orleans Fire Department received a 911 call reporting a "building collapse with possible person trapped" at about 4:19 p.m. on Monday, the department said in an official release.
The first of five companies carrying 13 personnel arrived on scene seven minutes later, and crews encountered a residential property being renovated at 2309 Washington Ave. that had collapsed and also damaged an adjacent property.
The three contractors working on the property were able to free themselves with "varying degrees of injury" prior to firefighters arriving, but crews still conducted primary and secondary searches to insure no one else was trapped.
Two of the injured contractors were transported in serious condition with severe cuts, broken bones and concussion symptoms, while the third received minor bruises and cuts and was transported for observation as a precaution.
The neighboring resident suffered bruises and abrasions when the property collapsed into the side of his home and was also transported to a nearby hospital. The unidentified man has been ordered not to re-enter his home until the property can be assessed for structural stability.
