Nearly a dozen people have been displaced from their homes after a house collapsed along N. Broad Street. The woman who owns the home was inside during the collapse and spoke with NBC10’s Johnny Archer about what happened and what she thinks caused it.
Nearly a dozen people were displaced after a building collapsed in North Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon, according to the Philadelphia Fire Department.
Around 2:30 p.m., the fire department was called to the 4500 block of North Broad Street for a report of a collapsed dwelling, officials said.
The fire department was able to place the incident under control quickly. The homeowner, Antoinette Cheatham, was home at the time.
"I was on my way up the stairs, and I heard this crack. Strange crack. And I just kept going and turned around and came back down and when I got to the third step the whole thing fell like dominoes," Cheatham said.
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She said she was in the kitchen cooking when her home collapsed but thankfully wasn't standing in the kitchen at the time as that's where the roof fell in.
"All our possessions are in there. Clothes. I can't find my little kitties. They're gone somewhere. I got my dog. So, I don’t know," she said.
Cheatham's home was deemed unsafe to reoccupy by L&I, along with the next-door neighbor’s home as well.
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City records show the home was built in the 1950s. Cheatham has been living there since 1990.
To the right of the home is an empty lot where neighbors said another home once stood, but also collapsed in a separate incident.
"Surprisingly this house also collapsed the same exact way. The back came down and then L&I had to tear down the rest of it. So that’s more concerning. It's like ok, what's going on?" Aisha Pleasant, a neighbor, said.
As to what caused the home to collapse, Cheatham has her theories.
"It started with a small crack and my walls been bowing on the inside. I haven’t talked to the contractor since July 15," she said.
Cheatham claims that contractor never fixed the crack in the walls and is now left wondering if that’s the reason the home she’s lived in since for decades collapsed.
"I don’t know what to do now. I really don’t," Cheatham said.
At this time there is no information from officials about what caused the sudden collapse of the building.
Cheatham said her insurance is paying for her and her family to stay in a nearby hotel.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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