Storm Causes Vacant Building To Collapse, Damaging West Baltimore Home
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A vacant building collapse caused thousands of dollars in damage to a home in west Baltimore.
It happened Halloween when strong storms came through late in the night. The winds blew part of a vacant house on the home next door.
Johnny Gibbs and his wife Irene are two of the last residents on their block. She called the city about a partial roof collapse of the house next door back in August.
"I called them about three times. Nobody showed up," she said.
They showed up Tuesday after Thursday night's bad storm.
"It sounded like a bomb or something going off, you know?" Irene Gibbs said. "And that's what scared me. I'm like, 'What is that? Ya know?'"
That sound was the third floor of the home next door landing on their home.
"It did not surprise me," Johnny Gibbs said. "I had a feeling that eventually it's gonna fall."
Initial estimates showed $7,000 in damages to the Gibbs' home.
"A lot of people say, move," Irene Gibbs said. "Well, where am I going at my age? Am I going to start paying rent to somebody?"
The city's housing department condemned the property on Friday. Now, it's slated for emergency demolition and will be knocked down by Wednesday night.
Now, the Gibbs family is left paying out of pocket unless they can track down the owners.
"We're not a Rockefeller," Johnny Gibbs said. "We're not rich. We're just trying to survive."
WJZ attempted to reach out to the listed property owner but was unsuccessful.
The housing department estimates there are 16,500 vacant buildings citywide.
