Dozens evacuated after Beloit building wall collapses
A wall collapse at a Beloit building overnight Thursday forced dozens of people from their apartments, police said.
The Beloit Fire Department said firefighters responded to a report of a collapsed wall at 161 W. Grand Ave. at 10:50 p.m. Part of the wall had fallen, and the fire department said the entire east side of the building was weakened and there was potential for a secondary collapse.
One of the walls of the apartment building at 608 4th St., Brittan House, is close to the collapsed wall. Officials evacuated the 45 residents until the structure could be deemed safe. At 8 a.m., Brittan House was declared safe and the occupants were allowed to return at about 10 a.m.
Officials said the wall that fell is part of a 140-year-old building. It’s expected to take about two weeks to fix.
No one was injured, fire officials said.
The 45 people who were evacuated overnight were assisted by the Red Cross, Beloit Transit System and Beloit School District, which helped with transportation and shelter.
City of Beloit Code Enforcement and Fire Department personnel were at the scene Friday assessing the damage to the affected building with the help of Corporate Contractors Inc.
A total of 16 departments responded to the collapse, including the Stateline Technical Rescue Team and off-duty Beloit fire personnel were also called in.
