City of Troy (NY) firefighters responded last week to a building collapse that sent debris flying throughout a neighborhood, according to a report from Sidewinder Photos.
At 11:19 p.m. on September 8, 2023, the city of Troy Fire Department was dispatched to 289 4th Street when a caller reported that an entire building had collapsed into the roadway. Engine 6 arrived on scene and notified the dispatcher that they had a full collapse of a home.
Firefighters immediately began to make their way towards the rubble pile that poured out into the street and leaned against a nearby home. Crews contended with a cantilever collapse, where after the structural collapse the remaining portion of the structure is unsupported and hanging freely in the air. If there were victims trapped on the floors of the building, this could make rescues extremely difficult for firefighters. In such case, debris can be left on the remains of the structure and slide off onto firefighters operating below. Numerous cars near the collapse zone were covered in concrete dust from the collapsed home.
Firefighters immediately began to evacuate the homes surrounding the collapse, escorting multiple residents to safety. Crews used a thermal imaging camera to search through some of the void areas in the front of the structure to make sure that no one was trapped inside of the building. Firefighters on scene deployed a handline for safety reasons in case the structure had a gas leak of any type, but learned that the utilities had been disconnected to that building a while ago.
No injuries were reported and only one other building suffered damage.
