5 still unaccounted for in Davenport, Iowa, building collapse

RYAN ROBERTSON: ​​THREE DAYS AFTER THE PARTIAL COLLAPSE OF A BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN DAVENPORT IOWA, RESIDENTS AND THE CITY–ARE STILL LOOKING FOR ANSWERS. FIVE PEOPLE ARE UNACCOUNTED FOR, INCLUDING TWO MEN WHO ARE MOST LIKELY STILL IN THE BUILDING.

THEN CENTURY PLUS OLD BUILDING IS CALLED THE DAVENPORT HOTEL, BUT IT’S NOW AN APARTMENT BUILDING WITH AROUND 80 UNITS AND COMMERCIAL SPACE ON THE GROUND FLOOR.

THE BACK SIDE OF THE BUILDING PARTIALLY COLLAPSED SUNDAY NIGHT. THE CITY SAID MONDAY IT WOULD START DEMOLITION WORK TUESDAY MORNING. THE FAST TIMELINE LED MANY TO QUESTION JUST HOW THOROUGH WAS THE SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS? THE FIRE MARSHALL SAID ALL OF THE EQUIPMENT SHOWED NO SIGNS OF LIFE IN THE BUILDING.

THE EQUIPMENT WAS WRONG. ON MONDAY EVENING, A WOMAN WAS FOUND ALIVE IN HER FOURTH STORY APARTMENT.

Louisa Riddick:  “I’ve never seen nothing like this happen in all of my life since I’ve been in Davenport, Iowa. This is, this is terrible.”

LOUISA RIDDICK, LIKE SO MANY OTHERS, SAID SHE NEEDED TO COME DOWNTOWN AND SEE THE DEVASTATION FOR HERSELF. LOUISA SAYS SHE KNEW THE WOMAN WHO WAS SAVED FROM THE FOURTH FLOOR WINDOW, AND IS HAPPY SHE’S BACK WITH HER DAUGHTERS.

ABDULLAH ASAD SAID HIS FRIEND, BRADLEY SMITH, MOVED INTO THE DAVENPORT HOTEL TWO MONTHS AGO.

Abdullah: “We talk about sports. He likes to gamble on the games.”

ABDULLAH HASN’T SEEN HIS FRIEND SINCE LAST WEEK, AND CAN’T GET IN TOUCH WITH HIM. ABDULLAH SAID HIS FRIEND ISN’T AT HIS MOTHER’S HOUSE OR WITH HIS DAUGHTER.

Abdullah: “I would hope that everyone is safe and alive. But that’d be wishful thinking because the idea is the word tragedy has been put out there.”

ABDULLAH SAID THE BUILDING HIS FRIEND CALLED HOME, WAS IN DIRE NEED OF REPAIR. CITY RECORDS SHOW 22 PERMITS FOR RENOVATION WERE ISSUED LAST YEAR FOR THE PROPERTY… IT STILL ISN’T CLEAR IF SOME OF THAT WORK LED TO THE COLLAPSE, OR IF THE FALL WAS CAUSED BY DECADES OF WHAT SOME LANDLORDS CALL DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.

RYAN ROBERTSON: “BEYOND THE FRUSTRATION AROUND THE SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS, MANY OF THE RESIDENTS THAT I SPOKE TO TODAY SAID THEY’RE ALSO FRUSTRATED ABOUT THE SEEMING LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE BUILDING’S OWNER ANDREW WOLD. A FEW YEARS AGO, MR. WOLD BOUGHT THE BUILDING FOR A LITTLE OVER $4 MILLION. LAST YEAR HE WAS FINED $4,500 FOR A NUISANCE PROPERTY. THIS WEEK, HE WAS FINED YET AGAIN FOR FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A STRUCTURALLY SOUND PROPERTY.”

PEGGY TRIMBY SAYS FINES WEREN’T ENOUGH TO KEEP THE BUILDING UP TO CODE BEFORE THE COLLAPSE, AND SHE’S NOT SURE MORE FINES WILL FIX THE PROBLEM. TRIMBY’S CALLED THE CITY HOME FOR YEARS, AND HAS LIVED IN BUILDINGS IN A SIMILAR STATE TO THAT OF THE DAVENPORT.

Peggy Trimby: “But there has been so many Davenport landlords just getting away with putting a bandaid on it. And calling it fixed. Now you better believe we’ve lost lives. That’s why we’re down here protesting something has to be done with these landlords. Forced to keep their stuff up to code. Not just get a permit and wait two weeks to get somebody in there. Because you see what happened.”

AS OF WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, THERE WAS STILL NO WORD FROM THE CITY ON THE TIMELINE FOR THE BUILDING’S DEMOLITION. AUTHORITIES, ONCE AGAIN, SAID THEY DON’T SEE ANY EVIDENCE ANYONE ALIVE IS LEFT IN THE BUILDING, BUT THESE RESIDENTS HAVE HEARD THAT BEFORE.

THE LACK OF ANY NEW INFORMATION IS UNSETTLING FOR SEVERAL REASONS. THE BUILDING POSES AN IMMEDIATE DANGER AND COULD COLLAPSE COMPLETELY AT ANY MOMENT. THERE ARE OTHER BUILDINGS IN THE AREA THAT COULD BE DAMAGED IF THAT HAPPENS…AND DOWNTOWN DAVENPORT IS FILLED WITH OLD, BRICK BUILDINGS BUILT IN THE SAME STYLE AS THE DAVENPORT HOTEL.

Peggy: “It took this to get the city to open their eyes, to get the public to open their eyes and help more. You can’t sit around and cry about what the city’s not doing or what this person ain’t doing if you’re not willing to get up off your duff and help don’t make any sense.”

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