A Philadelphia family is grappling with the sudden loss of their home after their residence in the Spring Garden neighborhood collapsed on Wednesday, leaving them without shelter and precious memories buried in the rubble. Tyrone Mack, his partner Sandy Island, their three children, and pets were forced to evacuate the home on North 16th Street prior to the collapse, after a contracting company booked them into a hotel over safety concerns.
"They said, 'You guys need to get out, it might fall,'" Mack expressed his confusion over the abrupt displacement in a statement obtained by CBS News Philadelphia. As crews worked on demolition, the structure further displayed its instability, leaning perilously to one side, the same contracting company that forewarned the family, however, no information was provided on the events leading up to the family being made aware of the dangers presented by their own home.
Adding to their woes, Mack, a stage four colon cancer patient, shared a harrowing account with 6abc about how he returned from a doctor's appointment to news of his home's deterioration, "She said, 'I'm hearing this loud noise and the whole house is shaking.' And then all of a sudden there's this big crack in the side of my house and they were trying to fix it." The emotional toll was clear as he spoke of the irreplaceable loss of family heirlooms and concern for his pets left inside the compromised structure.
The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections, alerted to the calamity at 729 N. 16th Street, "The property located at 729 N. 16th Street is imminently dangerous following a partial collapse. The Department of Licenses and Inspection did an emergency demolition of the property today. The family has been relocated. No one was injured during the collapse." the department stated in response to the partial collapse though the cause remains under investigation, according to the same 6abc report.
