READING, Pa. – Demolition is underway after a home in Reading partially collapsed overnight.
Bit by bit, crews removed crumbling pieces of a home in the 100 block of Poplar Street after the building partially collapsed around 1:00 in the morning.
“Our members arrived to find an unoccupied vacant building that had a significant amount of collapse to it, which resulted in working with our partners and building and trades and reaching out to a demolition contractor,” said City of Reading Fire Marshal, Jeremy Searfoss.
Jace Codi | WFMZ-TV
He says the house next door was occupied and the four people living there have to find somewhere else to stay. Thankfully, they were not hurt when part of the building came down.
Searfoss says the house that collapsed was vacant since at least 2022.
One man who walked by the scene says the house belonged to his grandmother several decades ago and recalled fond memories of the home.
“It looks like most of this is related to maintenance issues with water infiltration coming down the front and led to some detachment between some of the building materials, which led to the collapse that you see,” added Searfoss.
Officials say they do not believe the building will be able to be salvaged.
Heavy equipment and workers on a lift strategically dismantled parts of the building throughout the day.
Caitlin Rearden | WFMZ-TV
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