And the first lawsuit has been filed in the Philadelphia building collapse. That lawsuit on behalf of Nadine White refers to the cause of the collapse as “an entirely preventable tragedy that resulted from gross recklessness.” Ms. White was buried in rubble but survived.
City officials have begun inspecting demolition sites around the city. Approximately 300 sites will be inspected. A criminal investigation has begun. And the rescue effort has ended.
The suit names Griffin Campbell and Richard Basciano as defendants. Campbell is the demolition contractor and Basciano is the building owner. Basciano allegedly was negligent in his selection of a less than competent contractor to do the work. An emergency motion was filed which would permit plaintiff’s counsel the opportunity to inspect the site. An order could be issued today.
Councilman James Kenney has called for a review of the city’s demolition application and inspection process. “This is happening all over the city,” he said. “I need to know who the workers are who are there, what they know, what they don’t know, how they’ve been trained.”
“Buildings get demolished all the time in the city of Philadelphia with active buildings right next to them. … They’re done safely in this city all the time,” Mayor Michael Nutter said Thursday. “Something obviously went wrong here yesterday and possibly in the days leading up to it. That’s what the investigation is for.”
“It seems odd,” said Michael R. Taylor, executive director of the National Demolition Association. “Why wouldn’t you tell the Salvation Army guys to close their thrift store until the adjoining building was down?”
Robert Brehm, a construction engineer, said he would have evacuated the building “not because I expected the wall to fall on the one-story, but it is a predictable outcome. Sometimes it doesn’t fall the way you want it to fall.” If the store had been cleared out, he said, “we wouldn’t be talking.”
Among those killed was Borbor Davis. Said his stepdaughter Maryann M. Mason, “He did the right thing; he went to work,” she said. “That’s what everybody is supposed to do.”
Also killed was Kimberly Finnegan, 35. “It was her first day at work there,” said Heather Sizemore, a friend. “She was awesome. She was a really loving person.”
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