NEW BERLIN — Residents at the Pinewood Creek Apartments in New Berlin were left with questions after emergency crews responded to reports of a possible structural collapse inside one unit on Saturday night.
Bonnie Lopez, who has lived at the complex for 12 years, said she first learned something was wrong through an emergency alert app on her phone around 9 or 9:30 p.m.
Watch: Why neighbors are left with questions after a report of a possible structural collapse inside of an apartment unit in New Berlin on Saturday night.
"I have an app on my phone. And that happened to pop up," Lopez said.
Her daughter also reached out after seeing the alert.
"My daughter alerted me and said is this you mom? I said no it's not me. Because it's in the same apartment complex but a different building," Lopez said.
Lopez said she heard sirens outside her window and watched crews respond to Building 6, across from her apartment. Reports indicated part of a ceiling — possibly involving water and insulation — had collapsed inside a unit.
"The guy that lives in that apartment says his ceiling collapsed. First he said the roof but I said no it can't be the roof," Lopez said.
Lopez said the complex has a history of prompt maintenance.
"They check them all the time. When we have big wind storms and the tiles fall off, they repair it right away," Lopez said.
Other neighbors who spoke off camera said they also heard activity outside but initially thought a pipe may have burst. Lopez said she shares that suspicion.
"I was thinking one of the pipes from the sprinkler system might have been leaking, saturated the drywall in the ceiling and that's what came down," Lopez said.
TMJ4 has reached out to the New Berlin Fire Department, but the department has not yet responded to our request for comment on what caused the collapse.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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