100 residents forced out after part of Worcester apartment building roof collapses

WORCESTER - Jacob Elbirt was already ankle deep in water when he fled his first-floor apartment on Mill Street in Worcester. "The entire ceiling just opened up and started gushing water and dirt."  What he didn't realize at the time was the roof had partially collapsed raining construction materials into apartments below. 

Rachel Storey narrowly missed it in her third-floor unit.  "As I was coming out of my bedroom, I heard the ceiling from the living room fall through, and then the floor fell through to the next apartment below," said Storey. 

Officials believe the weight of bundles of construction materials, just delivered for a roofing project, were too much for the roof and came crashing through from the third floor to the second floor. 

Storey says she was close to falling through.  "If I was in the living room I wouldn't be here right now, I would be dead," she said.   

As many as 100 people in 32 units are now displaced, with utilities turned off and structural engineers trying to determine the integrity of the building.

Many residents are left to wonder what they'll do now.  "The property manager said we should find families to stay with and that's not possible," said Gerry Bonney.

Firefighters quickly evacuated residents who couldn't get out themselves, as they say the collapse and falling debris continued for awhile. 

"We're very lucky.  Here this was an occupied building at 10:20 in the morning on a Friday that there were not injuries and we were able to evacuate all the occupants," said Worcester acting deputy fire chief Adam Roche. 

City officials say it's unlikely anyone will be able to return to their apartments over the weekend.