x
Breaking News
More () »

Building partially collapses in Downtown Buffalo

Buffalo emergency crews are on the scene of an apparent partial building collapse at Genesee and Oak Streets in Downtown Buffalo. No injuries have been reported.

Buffalo emergency crews are on the scene of an apparent partial building collapse at Genesee and Oak streets in downtown Buffalo.

Buffalo Fire Commissioner William Renaldo tells 2 On Your Side that the three-story building collapsed just before 11 a.m. on Friday. 

He says there are no injuries. There were construction workers working in a building adjacent to the building. They were able to evacuate safely. 

A pickup truck parked in front of the collapsed building was damaged. The three-story building fell to the ground, sending up quite a bit of smoke and debris.

It looked even worse when, as seen in this security camera video from Catholic Health across Oak Street, the front of the more than a century-old structure gave way.

WATCH: Surveillance video shows moment building collapses

Chris Koch works at an architectural firm on the opposite corner from the building that suffered the partial collapse. 

"And we all turned to look, and I just this huge dust plume. You couldn't even see across the street," Koch said. "So we came out to see what was going on. We knew there were workers on the roof of the building and wanted to make sure they were OK, and when the dust settled, there was a giant, gaping hole in the building."

There were four to five workers in the one story building adjacent to the structure that collapsed. They were all able to evacuate safely/

There was also a pickup truck outside, and that suffered some damage.

With everyone accounted for, firefighters gave a lift to a structural engineer so he could get a bird's-eye view of the damage and begin making assessments. Once they get a closer view and get through a partial demolition, they'll have a better idea of what caused the collapse.

Commissioner Renaldo says the city will partially demolish what's left of the building and bring in structural engineers to determine what to do with what's left of the building.

Officials are asking people to avoid the area. It could be hours before a demolition team could be brought in, and another two hours after that before it's safe for traffic. 

Eamon Riley, Vice President of Legacy Development says they purchased the building at 324 Oak Street last year at the height of the pandemic. He said they were unable to access the necessary resources to rectify the neglect from the previous owner, and that they were working on a stabilization plan at the time of the collapse. 

2 On Your Side has confirmed the building at 324 N. Oak Street was previously owned by Bruce Adler. Adler also previously owned a building on Ellicott Street in downtown Buffalo that also partially collapsed 2019. That building later had to be demolished. 

WATCH: Drone footage of building collapse:

Before You Leave, Check This Out