BOSTON — Four people were displaced after a building in the North End partially collapsed Monday. Boston Fire Department was on scene at 8 Baldwin Place after the third-floor outer chimney wall of the four-story home collapsed.
No injuries were reported.
People who live in the buildings next door to the partial building collapse believe the ongoing construction nearby is to blame.
“The whole block shakes every day. I mean like, not little vibrations, like bombs are going off, like things fall off my bureau every day starting at seven in the morning,” said Steve Lacolla, who lives in the North End.
Lacolla and many others who live on that block in the North End weren’t totally surprised to see a partial building collapse on Baldwin Place Monday afternoon.
“We heard it might have collapsed a couple of days ago, but we weren’t sure,” said Brian Alkins, spokesperson for the Boston Fire Department.
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The Boston Fire Department said a chimney crumbled to pieces with bricks now blocking the fire escape of the four-story building. The four people who live in the building had to evacuate.
“If that was on the other side of the street, on the street side instead of the yard side, someone might have gotten killed,” said Steve Costa, who lives in the building next door.
Luckily no one was injured, but it is an ongoing concern for neighbors. Costa said the construction next to the building is for new housing for senior citizens.
“When they gave the presentation, they didn’t say they were going to dig up all the sewer lines through the parking lot completely,” Costa said.
Neighbors like Costa are now worried their old buildings next door will also start to collapse from the work being done here.
“Imagine having to deal with this every day,” Lacolla said.
The Boston Fire Department said an inspector needs to check the safety of the building before the residents can return back home.