No Deaths Reported After Bronx Building Partially Collapses: ‘Could Have Been So Much Worse'

Crews responded to the scene at 1915 Billingsly Terrace just after 3:30 p.m. local time on Monday, according to the New York City Fire Department

Authorities say that no one died or was severely injured after an apartment building partially collapsed in the Bronx.

The New York City Fire Department responded to the scene at 1915 Billingsly Terrace just after 3:30 p.m. local time on Monday after receiving a report about a structural collapse, according to a report obtained by PEOPLE.

A corner of the seven-story structure had come down without warning, leaving rubble as high as 12 feet in some spots, The New York Times and USA Today reported.

Photos of the wreckage — shared by FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) — show firefighters crowded around a large mound of debris, as well as a K-9 rescue worker looking for possible victims. 

After hours of searching through the debris, firefighters determined that no one was trapped, according to the FDNY.

Two people sustained minor injuries, they added. One person was transported to St. Barnabas with non-life-threatening injuries, while the other “refused medical attention.”

At a press conference Monday night, Mayor Eric Adams said everyone in the store located on the ground level of the building was able to get out unharmed.

An FDNY drone is seen searching for victims after a partial building collapse on West Burnside Avenue and Phelan Place in the Bronx, New York City on Monday, December 11, 2023.
A drone searches for victims after the partial building collapse in the Bronx.

Gardiner Anderson for NY Daily News via Getty 

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Miraculously, no one was severely injured,” said Kavanagh on X. “From looking at the scene and surveillance footage, it could have been so much worse.”

It is currently unclear what caused the partial building collapse. An investigation is ongoing, per the reports.

Police and rescuers work at the site of a partially collapsed residential building on December 11, 2023 in New York City. Part of a seven-story residential building in the Bronx collapsed on the afternoon of December 11.
Emergency responders at the partial building collapse in the Bronx.

Liao Pan/China News Service/VCG via Getty

The building involved in Monday’s collapse was constructed in 1927 and did not have any structural violations when the collapse occurred, Commissioner Jimmy Oddo said at Monday’s press conference.

The owner of the building submitted their latest report to the Building Commission in March 2021, which listed seven “unsafe facade conditions” that included deteriorating mortar and cracked bricks, Oddo added.

Work was being done on the apartment building “as recently as a few days ago,” according to the commissioner. Drawings submitted to obtain a permit speak to the issue with the lower right-hand corner of the building, though Oddo did not go into specifics.

“I want to be clear, unsafe facade conditions is not the same as an unsafe building,” he said at the press conference. He said authorities do not believe work was being done on the facade the day of the collapse.

Related Articles