Inspector says water damage likely caused deadly collapse
HAMILTON » The likely cause of Monday’s deadly house collapse may have been long-term water exposure and seepage.
An engineering firm believes the three-story home at 1804 S. Broad St. collapsed due to crumbling concrete masonry caused by long-term water penetration through an exterior wall, according to documents obtained by The Trentonian.
Leonard Busch Associates, a Ewing-based structural engineering firm, rendered its “professional opinion for the cause of the collapse” on Tuesday, one day after 38-year-old Tika Justice died in the incident that also left her two daughters injured.
“We believe chronic, long-term water penetration through the east side exterior wall led to the extensive deterioration and crumbling of at least one course of block probably over a wide area,” licensed professional engineer Robert Busch says in the firm’s report issued Tuesday. “We speculate that this disintegrating block gave way yesterday morning leading to several floor joists slipping off their supports and directly resulting in the catastrophic collapse of the building.”
Busch opined on the cause of the collapse as Hamilton Township officials consulted with community leaders on how to benefit Justice’s two daughters, ages 20 and 16, who were rescued from the rubble Monday morning and rushed to an area hospital in serious but stable condition.
Hamilton Mayor Kelly A woman trapped waist deep in rubble following the collapse of a building on the 1800 block of South Broad Street in Hamilton Township Monday, July 23, 2018.
Yaede, the Rev. Joseph E. Woods of Saint Phillips Baptist Church and Angelo Hall of the nonprofit John O. Wilson Neighborhood Service Center on Tuesday announced a clothing collection drive that will benefit Justice’s two daughters.
The crumbled house at 1804 S. Broad St. was owned by William “Bill” Pozniak, who owns several properties on that block, including a next-door photography studio at 1806 South Broad. A certificate of occupancy shows Hamilton Township housing inspector Kenneth Skwara inspected 1804 South Broad on Sept. 26, 2013, before Pozniak rented the home over to Justice as a tenant.
“The purpose of the Hamilton Township Housing Code Ordinance is to insure, to the maximum extent practical, compliance with the various ordinances of the township and the requirements of the Housing Code itself in order to maintain high standards of housing quality for both homeowners and renters,” reads a note in the certificate of occupancy obtained by The Trentonian. “Township Housing inspectors make every reasonable effort to thoroughly inspect each dwelling.”
The on-site structural
damage review by Leonard Busch Associates appears to absolve Hamilton Township of any responsibility or liability in the collapse.
The firm described the incident as “unique” and suggested long-term water penetration through a wall had caused concrete blocks to disintegrate, which impaired several floor joists, causing the house to collapse despite there being a “prior lack of evident structural distress” in the superstructure. A “structural distress” in the superstructure could include cracking, misalignment or bulging, none of which was evident prior to Monday’s collapse, according to Busch’s professional opinion.
Hamilton Township requested Leonard Busch Associates to speculate about the cause of Monday’s pancake-style collapse. The engineering company physically inspected concrete block masonry from the collapsed house, reviewed pre-collapse Google Earth images and “inhaled the distinctive odor of mold indicating the basement was chronically moist or wet,” according to Busch’s report.
“We do not believe the source of failure is structural inadequacy or widespread deterioration of the wood framing or superstructure in general,” Busch says in the report. He ruled out gas explosion and termite damage as possible reasons for the South Broad Street house collapse.
“In conclusion and with a reasonable degree of engineering certainty,” Busch says, “we believe the proximate cause of the catastrophic collapse of 1804 South Broad Street was from the failure of deteriorated concrete block due to long term water penetration.”
Collection drive
Anyone seeking to help the survivors of Monday’s deadly collapse can donate clothing beginning Thursday, July 26, and continuing through Saturday, Aug. 4, to the John O. Wilson Neighborhood Service Center or Saint Phillips Baptist Church at specified times.
The Wilson Center at 169 Wilfred Ave. in Hamilton will accept women’s shoes, women’s clothes, female undergarments and gift card donations from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday over the next two weeks beginning Thursday.
Saint Phillips Baptist Church at 445 Parkinson Ave. in Hamilton will accept women’s clothing and gift card donations from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday and Sunday over the next two weeks beginning Thursday.
“In addition to our compassion and prayers during this very difficult time,” Mayor Yaede said Tuesday in a press statement, “these two young daughters of our community are also in need of our town’s generosity. I want to thank Pastor Woods and the entire congregation of Saint Phillips Baptist Church, as well as Angelo Hall and the Wilson Center family, for partnering in this collective drive.”