Building Partially Collapses Into Alley In Armour Square
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A building partially collapsed in the Armour Square neighborhood Monday afternoon.
The Fire Department reported the rear section of the vacant commercial building at 2727 S. Wells St. collapsed into the alley.
No injuries were reported.
It was not immediately learned whether the snowstorm on Monday was to blame for the collapse.
Chicago Department of Buildings Commissioner Matthew Beaudet said earlier Monday that the city has responded to a few building collapses over the past few weeks following heavy snowfall in the city, mostly in older vacant buildings.
"The difference between a vacant building and an occupied building is an occupied building has heat," Beaudet said. "The heat goes up, and the heat helps heat the building, heat the roof, and the snow will come down. And if you have an unoccupied building that's been vacant, there's no heat going up there, that's where you can get the (snow) buildup a little bit more."
Beaudet said people should not go up on their roofs to clear away snow, even though the city already has had approximately 28 inches of snowfall over the previous 19 days, and could get up to another foot Monday into Tuesday.
"Please do not go on top of a roof. It is not safe. There are professionals that do that for a living. If you go up on your roof, you don't know what you're stepping on underneath. You don't know what's underneath that snow. You don't know if you're in a soft spot ... or a vent or anything," he said.
The commissioner also said you can risk falling off the roof, or damaging the roof by trying to shovel off snow.
"Again, just let nature take it's course, and the snow will eventually melt," he said.
