'What was that?' Building manager, business owners describe parking lot collapse in Penn Hills
Benjamin Bair had just shown an apartment minutes before he heard a crashing sound.
“I instantly stopped and was like, ‘what was that?’” said Bair, the building manager for the apartments where the parking garage collapsed on Tuesday evening in Penn Hills along Frankstown Road. “Seconds after … like boom, boom, boom. The whole building was shaking. I ran out of the unit and was running up the steps banging on doors, screaming the building is going to fall, the building is going to fall … everybody out!”
He said the first thing he thought of was the condominium building collapse in Miami.
“I was in complete shock,” he said.
Bair said he saw a woman in a white car – the parking level she was on collapsed one level below. He asked if she was OK and she said “Call 911.” He did, and then pulled the fire alarm, he said, and began banging on doors to get people out. Police came to help the woman out of the white car.
The two front door exits weren’t available because they lead out to the parking garage, which had collapsed, but there is another way out that leads to an alley. Penn Hills chief of police shut the power off, Bair said, and they had to rely on emergency lighting and headlamps.
“Through all of the commotion, I lost my keys so I had to go back into the building,” Bair said. “When police and fireman arrived I went back in with them because I know the layout of the building and I knew people were still in there. It was dark in there, so we used flashlights to evacuate everyone out of the entire building.”
Every resident was accounted for, according to Penn Hills Mayor Pauline Calabrese. She said the building’s owner responded right away and paid for engineers to inspect it.
“I am so proud of the response,” she said.
Calabrese said it is private property and to her knowledge, there hadn’t been any previous complaints about the structure.
“These are low-frequency instances, but high risk,” Calabrese said. “The building owner was on the scene and cooperated with everyone.”
If residents need to remove anything from their apartments, they need to contact the owner, Calabrese said.
There are five floors and 36 apartments with approximately 50 people, said Bair, a Penn Hills resident who is in his first year on the job and in charge of six buildings.
Most of the residents are staying with friends and family while a few are at a hotel, Bair said.
Bair had recently checked the storage area below where the cars were parked to make sure no one was down there. Sometimes homeless people take shelter there.
The building was constructed in the 1950s. There are three apartments currently available in the building, which is why he was showing one on Tuesday.
Penn Hills fire marshal Chuck Miller said there were no violations on that property. He said they are waiting for a structural engineering firm to conduct and report on the investigation.
“No cars can be removed because they are part of the investigation,” Miller said. “I told the property owner people who live there will be allowed in with an escort to retrieve anything important, but not all at once.”
That section of Frankstown Road remains closed. Businesses in the nearby plaza and some below in the Penn Hills Shopping Center remain temporarily closed. Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority was on site on Wednesday, as was People’s Gas Company.
Barry Kukovich, spokesperson for Peoples Gas, said he received a text message at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and a crew was on the scene immediately.
“We had people on-site to make sure the area was safe and the lines weren’t affected,” he said.
Crews returned Wednesday to take care of a gas leak that was not caused by the collapse, he said.
There are four cars on the area farthest away from the building and 12 on the other side closest to it. The vehicles are expected to be removed via crane. A time as to when has not been determined.
Building resident Abiola Odeyemi said he has two cars – a Toyota and a Chevrolet “in that ditch.”
He said he has not contacted his insurance company because this is not his responsibility. He said he talked with the management company and was told they will be in touch with him.
“This is due to them,” said Odeyemi, who is staying with a friend. “They need to fix it.”
He said he wants to get his things and put them in storage and look for another place to live. He said he hadn’t noticed any cracks in the concrete and thinks something must have happened underground. He said has been thinking of moving since his wife died five months ago.
“I had just finished work and was taking a nap when the cops were banging on my door,” he said. “When I saw my cars I did not cry. I was in shock. It was just like a movie. I was like, ‘are you kidding me?’”
MJ Kelly Realty, which leases the apartments, was not available via phone and did not respond to an email.
Several nearby businesses No. 1 Chinese Kitchen, Hook Fish & Chicken and Timeless Era were closed as a precaution. Sometimes employees park where the garage collapsed – two of the cars belong to people who work at Hook Fish & Chicken.
Ahmad Alrifai, whose family owns Hook Fish & Chicken, said he heard a loud bang and an explosion.
“It sounded like an earthquake,” Alrifai said
“It is sad, but I am glad no one got hurt,” said Kamil Alrifai, of Brookline, who owns several Hook Fish & Chicken locations. “I am giving the employees the day off. We are looking for another location. We really like this area and want to stay here.”
Kamil Alrifai said he had been looking to move because the buildings could have been better maintained.
Dyesha Butler, who owns Timeless Era, a retro clothing store, left early to pick up her nephew to take him to Dave & Buster’s. Her car was parked where the vehicles are currently hanging over the concrete.
“Ten minutes later, the garage collapsed,” she said. ”That was God with me, because I usually stay late. I definitely said some prayers when I saw what happened knowing minutes before I was parked there.”
American Red Cross officials said Wednesday evening that they are assisting residents from 33 units of the apartment complex, and caseworkers are continuing to connect with the displaced residents to help them plan their next steps.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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