Part of Carol Stream apartment collapses; 23 families evacuated
A Carol Stream condominium building's 60-foot-wide decorative overhang collapsed early Tuesday morning forcing 23 families to evacuate. There were no injuries.
The bricks and mortar gave way about 2:15 a.m., causing the slanted overhang to fall from the two-story building, pulling columns and balcony railings with it, said Jay Singh, Carol Shire Commons building manager.
"The good news is that this didn't happen during the day when kids were playing outside," Singh said.
Twenty three families from the buildings at 129 and 127 W. Elk Trail were evacuated almost immediately, and the Red Cross was on the scene at 3:30 a.m., Singh said. Some were allowed to return by 10 a.m., but others were taken to village hall and were temporarily moved to a nearby Hampton Inn.
All families were allowed back into their residences Tuesday evening, Singh said.
Jesus Aragon, an 8-year-old who lives in a condominium across the courtyard from the collapse, said he and his sister woke to the sound of crashing bricks.
"It was scary at first when everything was falling," he said. "I was asleep, and my sister woke me up saying something really loud crashed outside."
A structural engineer from the Oakbrook Terrace Fire Department conducted an inspection and determined that the building is structurally sound, Carol Stream Fire Chief Rick Kolomay said.
Kolomay said he was worried that the columns that fell could have pulled interior structural supports with them, but that was not the case.
"We were worried about something like a domino effect," he said.
The building manager said the collapse was most likely due to fatigue and water damage to the building, which he estimated to be about 45 years old. Singh said the management has been rehabbing the facades of the complex's condominiums during the past few years, and had planned to overhaul soon the structure that collapsed.
"An overhang covered up the damage," Singh said. "You just couldn't see it. It's just poor construction."
Other buildings at the complex have similar overhangs that are purely aesthetic. Singh said they will be closely monitored for signs of deterioration.
In the meantime, he added, "My concern now is to be able to get (repairs) done quickly."
Staff Writer Marco Santana contributed to this report.
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