ST. FRANCIS — Rescue crews responded to reports of a balcony collapse at a two-story apartment building in St. Francis on Sunday night.
Crews were called shortly after 8 p.m. to an apartment building near S. Kansas Avenue and S. Whitnall Avenue.
St. Francis Fire Chief Nicholas Poplar said upon arriving, crews found that the exterior balcony gave way and fell into a lower-level basement entrance.
According to Chief Poplar, three people had to be rescued, and one person in a lower unit had to shelter in place until it was safe for them to be rescued.
No one was injured. All occupants from the affected units were accounted for, according to Poplar.
"I was inside the building, and it sounded like a lightning strike or like a thunderbolt, it was that loud and that fast," said Johnathan Condecon-Acker, who lives at the apartment complex. "My uncle lives up there. I was afraid for him, and just looking at the destruction, it's kind of scary."
The chief said two brick walls appeared to have a slight bow in them, establishing a collapse area. They appeared to have structural fatigue.
The Milwaukee Fire Department assisted with a structural analysis.
Poplar said the rest of the 24-unit building remains safe to occupy, and the Red Cross was notified.
This is a developing story; TMJ4 News will provide updates as new information becomes available.
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