CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A snow-covered roof was found collapsed Thursday in Gresham on the South Side — the 19th structure to collapse in Chicago in a string of snow-related cave-ins that has left one man dead.
No one was hurt in the latest collapse, a vacant building in the 8200 block of South Racine Avenue, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
It was the second recent cave-in in the same block, CFD spokesman Larry Langford said.
“It’s the same thing: An old building, just ripe for snow-collapse,” Langford said. “This one will probably have to be demolished.”
At least 19 buildings have collapsed in Chicago during the recent stretch of snowfall, Langford said. The cave-ins have been mostly at abandoned buildings, but they also included garages and other structures.
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On Wednesday, Chicago saw its first fatality from a snow-related collapse after an awning fell on two people at an off-track betting site in Pullman. Firefighters dug out Randy Pate Sr., 54, who later died at a hospital.
Langford said there were no reported injuries in the other collapses.
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“These buildings are coming down in traveled alleys. It’s fortunate no one was walking or diving the alley,” Langford said. He recalled one collapse at 91st Street and Halsted that buried two parked cars Tuesday.
Over 34 inches of snow has fallen on O’Hare Airport in the last three weeks — the snowiest three-week stretch since the historic snowfall of 1979, according to the National Weather Service. The brunt of snow on roofs has been compounded by two consecutive weeks of below-freezing temperatures.
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(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2021. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)