Update – Monday, July 7: City responds to North 8th Street collapse as demolition gets underway
Original post: partial building collapse on the 500 block of North 8th Street prompted an emergency response late Saturday afternoon, displacing 10 residents and shutting down part of the street while officials assess the damage.
The City of Reading Department of Fire and Rescue Services was dispatched at 3:21 p.m. on July 5 for a reported structural collapse at 501 N. 8th Street, near the intersection of 8th and Green streets.
According to Fire Marshal Jeremy Searfoss, the building’s front south-facing bearing wall had completely crumbled into the street. “The main issue at this point in time is we have the main exterior, the south bearing wall, that collapsed completely in the street,” said Searfoss. “We’re trying to verify that nobody was on the street. The front portion of the building was empty at the time of the collapse.”
The rear section of the building, which housed occupied apartments, was quickly evacuated. As a precaution, the neighboring property at 503 N. 8th Street was also cleared. In total, 10 people were displaced—residents from both the rear section of 501 and the adjacent building.
Utility crews from UGI and Met-Ed were on the scene throughout the evening, working to shut off gas and electric service while maintaining a safe distance from the unstable structure. “UGI is shutting off gas in the area. They can’t be too close to the building because the building is still pretty unstable right now,” Searfoss said, noting the structure continued to show minor signs of movement.
By 7 p.m., utilities had been fully shut off to the building. City officials were still on scene assessing the damage, and a demolition contractor is expected to be brought in over the weekend to safely take down what remains of the structure.
North 8th Street remains closed to through traffic in the immediate area. No injuries have been reported.
