Results tagged “roofcollapse”

Around 3 a.m. this morning, a building's roof collapsed in Brooklyn. Located at 217 Court Street, the building was vacant but fire officials evacuated residents of neighboring buildings. A fire official explained, "This is a common occurrence when we get rain. We've had a few days of rain and the old buildings can't handle the weight." And we've had a lot of rain. According to WCBS 2, the Department of Buildings will check for structural damage to neighboring buildings and "an initial inspection leaves no doubt that a most, if not all of 217 Court Street will need to be demolished."

The Bronx DA's office says an 83-year-old engineer lied about using steel in a building that caught fire and collapsed and left two firefighters dead in 2006. Jose Vargas, who pleaded not guilty, was arraigned in court yesterday.