A historic six-story apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, that partially collapsed. Sunday evening will be demolished this week after rescue operations. For survivors shifted to a search and recovery operation Monday, officials said.
Mayor Mike Mattson said Monday that the K-9 unit worked overnight. And did not return any hits to the man, and they left the scene Monday afternoon.
The building is expected to be demolished Tuesday morning. The city of Davenport said in a statement.
Shattered photos show the building’s red brick exterior destroyed. Exposing steel beams and walls inside.
Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said Sunday. That the collapse caused a large natural gas leak and water from each floor.
“I’m praying there’s no one left,” Mattson said in the afternoon, after dogs searched the building for six hours.
“Yet, we have not identified anyone else” who may still be in the building, he said.
Some people took to social media to plead for information. About the whereabouts of loved ones living in the building.
Pauletta Brooks said Monday that her grandmother. Lisa Brooks, 52, lived in the building and was missing after the collapse.
Pauletta Brooks was at 324 Main St. early Sunday and was out with some family members. When she got a call about a gas leak at the apartment complex around 5 p.m. Family members. Then called Lisa Brooks and told her to evacuate the building.
“We called him and told him to get out of the building, but the phone went dead. And we haven’t been able to contact him since,” said Pauletta Brooks.
“Right now I feel like … the news isn’t getting any better from the looks of it,” Pauletta Brooks said. “I just know what’s coming. I think he’s either still in the building or he’s trapped.”
The cause of the collapse was still under investigation. With city structural experts expected to examine the building, officials said. Mattson said the building was still structurally unstable Monday morning.
Rich Oswald, the city’s director of development and neighborhood. Services, said property ownership had “permit issues” for exterior brickwork. Besides, he said, the owners were under orders from the city to make certain repairs and upgrades.
He said the reports of falling bricks in recent days were related to that work. The condition of the building in downtown Davenport was the subject of many resident complaints, officials acknowledged at the news conference.
“The tenants in this building are pretty active,” Oswald said. “They called the city many times with complaints.”
Mattson addressed reports of complaints about the building: “We know of some complaints, our people go and look at those complaints, do inspections. But the facility owner hired an outside engineering firm to check the structure and sign off on the structure.
“They are making some corrections. But in the future we will see where it goes,” he said.
City documents show that companies called 324 Main Street Project and Davenport Project have long planned improvements to the building while seeking tax breaks.