AP/Hunter
05/31/23
Five residents of a six-story apartment building that partially collapsed in Davenport Sunday remain unaccounted for, and authorities feared at least two of them might be stuck inside rubble that was too dangerous to search.
The three other missing residents are not believed to have been in the building.
A group of protesters held signs and chanted near the building, arguing the city was moving too quickly toward demolishing the 116-year-old brick and steel structure. Built as a hotel, it had more recently been used as apartments, and tenants had been allowed to remain even as bricks began falling from the building.
After the partial collapse, the city had announced plans to begin demolishing the unstable remains of the structure as early as Tuesday morning, but they delayed after a woman was found Monday evening.
Patricia Brooks said her sister, Lisa, attempted to leave the building but rushed back to where she thought she could shelter most safely — in her bathtub. Brooks spoke with her sister when she was being evaluated at the hospital following rescue from a window on the side of the building that was still standing.
Officials now say immediate demolition was never intended, but they did want to quickly stage the site for the tear-down. The woman’s rescue prompted officials to see if they could safely enter and ensure others weren’t inside. But they say that is extremely difficult when the building could collapse at any time.
Fire Marshal James Morris said explosives will not be used on the building, which is near other structures and is “unstable and continues to worsen.” Removing the debris that is propping up the rest of the building could cause further collapse, and Morris said there will be an investigation into what caused the collapse.
The Scott County Humane Society worked with firefighters after residents provided them with locations of pets left behind when they evacuated the building. A Facebook post indicated that they were able to recover 6 cats, 2 snakes and a lizard from parts of the building that were still standing.
City inspectors reviewed the ongoing repairs three days before the collapse.
