Over 30 Hawthorne residents without heat, gas following partial floor collapse at apartment building
The building compromised has nine residents displaced, including three cats and three dogs.
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A floor partially collapsed at the Hawthorne Garden apartments Sunday, leaving residents displaced. No was injured.
Hawthorne Fire Chief Joe Speranza says a wall caved in the basement around 9 a.m. He says the collapse took nine boilers out, and now there are over 30 residents without heat or gas.
The building compromised has nine residents and six pets displaced, according to Speranza. He says shoring was completed Sunday night and an engineer is determining their options on the affected building.
MORE: Building's floor partially collapses at Hawthorne Garden apartments, displacing residents
Pictures from inside the basement show a crumbled cinderblock wall. The residents who lived in Building E on Rock Road had to evacuate and are not allowed back in for the time being. The rest of the complex had the option to leave.
Red Cross says it’s providing emergency assistance to 12 people from seven families and that it will help three additional families.
Impacted resident Mike Barchetto told News 12 New Jersey he noticed his deck was sunken in and the bricks were starting to separate. He says there are a lot of safety issues at the apartment building that need to be addressed.
The cause of the collapse has not been determined yet. However, Speranza says this issue may have been building for years.
Sunday's rain could have been a contributing factor with an excess amount of water in the ground.
Management released a statement to News 12 and said they are working with local agencies to get the building up and running again.
