Families displaced after partial roof collapse in Lynnwood
LYNNWOOD, Wash. - Several families feel fortunate no one was hurt when a roof suddenly collapsed at the Village Townhouses Tuesday afternoon.
“We’re just lucky we weren’t in there. We could be dead,” Amy Deller said. She and her boyfriend, Eric Alley, live in the apartment that was destroyed.
Just after 3pm Tuesday, a pile of roofing equipment and materials suddenly fell through the roof of the Lynnwood apartment building. Police do not know why the structure failed, adding there’s no obvious sign of negligence. They will investigate the cause further.
Roofers had been doing work on the building. Lynnwood Fire said no one was on the roof at the time.
Deller and Alley unknowingly arrived home about an hour later, and quickly learned their home was destroyed.
“I’m super bummed out,” Alley said. “All of my stuff was in there.” Alley says his guitars were the most valuable thing he likely lost, though he doesn’t know what he’ll be able to salvage.
The building has 8 units and sat empty Tuesday night, with “unsafe” signs on each door and caution tape surrounding the entrances. Lynnwood Fire says the building will be inspected Wednesday to see if it is safe for some tenants to move back in.
The displaced families met with Red Cross Tuesday afternoon, and some received assistance and they deal with an uncertain future. As fire crews secured the damaged building, a roofing supply company removed a pile of equipment and materials from the other side of the same building’s roof.