Woman describes partial collapse of her home in Northeast Philadelphia

LAWNDALE (WPVI) -- Action News has learned a woman made it out safely when part of her home collapsed in the Lawndale section of Northeast Philadelphia.

It happened at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Jocelyne Desvarieux said she was sitting in the kitchen paying bills, when she heard a loud cracking noise outside her home in the 800 block of Longshore Avenue.

"When I went through the living room from the dining room, then I saw that part going, 'Boom!' from the top," she said.

"And I said, 'What!?' And I walk outside, I come out... this part was already down and the right was going down," she explained, gesturing to the front of the home.

Desvarieux told Action News her children were not home at the time of the collapse.

After first responders departed, L&I arrived and posted both sides of the twin as dangerous. Residents from both sides will have to stay elsewhere for now.

It's not clear what might have triggered the collapse. The stone front design is popular in Lawndale.

This particular home's front wall had been repaired in the past with star bolts because of prior settlement issues.

Two blocks away beneath a blue tarp a similar collapse to a stone fronted twin occurred just last month.

As for the residents on Longshore Avenue, both displaced families are dealing with their insurance companies at the moment.

In the short term, the structures will need to be stabilized and fenced off. Moving forward, however, officials say the owners will need to make a decision whether the structure can be repaired or if it needs to be demolished.