Building partially collapses in Pittsburgh's Uptown area
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A building partially collapsed in Pittsburgh's Uptown area, spilling bricks and debris onto the ground.
The call about the partial collapse of the building next to the old Renaissance Publications building came in shortly after 3 p.m. on Wednesday, dispatchers said. There's yellow police tape up in front of the scene, where debris is scattered across the ground.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said there are additional collapse concerns around the remaining structure so crews will work through the emergency demolition process. Fifth Avenue from Marion Street to Pride Street and Marion Street between Fifth Avenue and Forbes Avenue will remain closed.
No injuries have been reported. The building was unoccupied, but Public Safety officials brought in drones because they were concerned that there may have been people experiencing homelessness who were living inside. Officials later said a thorough technical search showed no one was inside.
The front of the building is still intact, and there's a blue condemnation notice posted. A city source said it would only take a gust of wind to bring down the wall of this building
Marco Merante, the manager of Merante Brothers Italian American Market next door, said the collapse was so loud he thought a bomb went off.
"I was sitting in the closest corner to the collapse. Everything on my cameras went black for a few seconds. There was debris thrown everywhere. The entire building was shaking, I thought it was falling in on top of me. Insane," he said.
He said he called 911 but could not make it out on his own. He said their roof caved in and for now, the market has been condemned.
"I was shaken up at first," Merante said. "But after I realized I was a little safe at that point, I'm better now."
It's unclear what led to the collapse, but Merante said he's had concerns about the building for years and wishes something had been done sooner.
"I feel bad for my friends," said Franco Pasquareli, a friend of the Merante family. "They are out of business right now just because the city didn't take care of blight around the neighborhood."
A city spokesperson said officials are waiting to hear from inspectors about why the building hadn't been demolished. The spokesperson said it was not on the current demolition list. City inspectors will be at the scene on Thursday.
Mercante's more immediate concern is the potential the family business may have to be demolished, too.
"I'm not saying I'm frustrated with the city. But as you can see, it's just negligence," Merante said.
The city's website said crews inspect condemned buildings annually, assigning them an inspection score. City records show the last time the building that partially collapsed on Wednesday was inspected, it received an "inspection score of 1," meaning the building was "structurally intact with no immediate observable danger."
KDKA-TV is working to learn when that inspection was.
