Part of a roof atop a four-story apartment building in Pottsville collapsed Wednesday, according to city Administrator Thomas A. Palamar.
The six residents at 521 S. Centre St. were evacuated and cannot return until the roof repairs are made and the work is reviewed by a third-party building inspector, Justin D. Trefsger, the city's code enforcement officer, said Thursday.
As of Thursday afternoon, Trefsger didn't know the cause of the collapse. Palamar said the building may be added to the blight list and the matter will be discussed at the next meeting of the city's Blight and Nuisance Task Force, scheduled for 9:15 a.m. Tuesday on the second floor of City Hall.
The partial roof collapse occurred at 8:25 p.m. Wednesday, according to a supervisor at the Schuylkill County Communications Center. The caller complained of the ceiling falling into the kitchen, according to the supervisor.
"The Red Cross provided six adults with lodging and will continue to follow up with the individuals, as needed. Each one is given three nights stay," Justin Edling, disaster program specialist for the American Red Cross Schuylkill Chapter, Pottsville, said Thursday.
Built in 1940, the four-story building is owned by Felipe Chay Zapil and Bartolo C. Zapil, Corona, New York, according to the online Schuylkill Parcel Locator.
On June 6, the Zapils bought the property for $39,000 from Zbyslaw A. Zyk. On Jan. 10, Zyk bought the property from John J. Plachko for $15,000. Plachko had owned the property since January 2004, when he bought it for $55,000 from Andrew D. and Roger S. Koperna, according to the sales history in the parcel locator.