After a 52-year-old woman was pulled unharmed Monday night from a partially collapsed apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, the city’s mayor said a previously announced plan to quickly tear down the structure was «under evaluation.»
Lisa Brooks was rescued after more than 24 hours apparently hiding under a sofa on an upper floor of the six-story structure, authorities and family members said.
Family members said she heard the destruction, felt the partial collapse of the building on Sunday and responded with fight-or-flight instincts: she dove under the furniture and stayed where she was.
He appeared to be in an unaffected unit, and when his phone started working again, he called for help, family members said.
A crowd of around 100 onlookers welcomed him, even as some staged impromptu protests against the city’s decision to tear down the 116-year-old building on Tuesday morning.
The rush, including the transition from search and rescue to recovery, is relatively unusual. In a condominium complex collapse, albeit a building much larger than the Davenport structure, in Surfside, Florida, in 2021, search and rescue efforts continued for two weeks. In the end, 96 people died.
Brooks was the second person rescued from the building after seven people were initially pulled immediately after the collapse at 5 p.m. Sunday, authorities said, bringing the number rescued to nine.
A woman trapped in the ruble was rescued overnight and hospitalized in critical condition, authorities and relatives said Monday. His wife identified the patient as Quanishia White-Berry.
A dozen more residents got out immediately with the help of first responders, Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said.
At a press conference on Monday morning, Carlsten said the operation would switch to recovery mode, and by late morning the city had announced the switch had occurred.
«Demolition is expected to start in the morning,» the city said.
Recovery mode indicates the belief that no more survivors will be found. One factor is the apparent instability of the brick-on-steel-and-concrete building, which began life as the city’s main hotel in 1907 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
At Monday’s press conference, Carlsten said the condition of the parts of the building that remain standing pose a risk to anyone inside, including rescue teams. «Right now the building is structurally unsound,» he said.
City officials planned a news conference for 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Colin Sheeley, Clara Secrist and shaquille brewster contributed.