Much of the partially collapsed house on 62nd and Ludlow streets near Chestnut now looks like an avalanche of brick and wood.
"At the time it was raining," said Arnett Woodall, who was working at his store around the corner from the house when it collapsed. "We thought it was thunder, and then we heard the fire engines come. So we came out in the rain to see what was going on, and the back of the house had collapsed."
According to Woodall, the house hadn't been kept up. "They just came in there," he recalled, "put the windows on, and put a roof on, and it just collapsed."
He said the house, which had been abandoned for years, was just purchased a few weeks ago. Although squatters would come in from time to time, he did not believe anyone was currently there.
"It needed some other work done, I'm quite sure, because it's been open and exposed for some time," Woodall said. "That's something L&I needs to be doing, checking to see who has permits to do some of this work."
Woodall said he was thankful it was raining during the time of the collapse, because a lot of the neighborhood kids play close to the house.
There have been no reports of any injuries at this time. An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway.