Residents forced from apartments in Camden after stairwell mishap

CAMDEN, N.J. (WPVI) -- Residents of an apartment building in Camden were forced to grab their belongings and leave overnight after a mishap in a stairwell led officials to declare the building unsafe.

It began around 10:00 p.m. Wednesday when a woman walking in a stairwell fell through a step and broke her leg at the Baird Court Apartments at 1 East Randolph Street in Camden.

The woman was in Building B when the steel stairway tread gave way. She was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

The building inspector called to the scene deemed the building unsafe because the damaged stairs left no way for residents in the upper apartments to get out of the building safely in an emergency situation.

Eighteen apartment units were evacuated immediately.

The Red Cross was assisting 7 families with food and shelter Thursday morning. Some of them were staying at the Quality Inn in Gloucester City.

Many were not happy to leave their apartments.

"I'm sure they're not happy," said Rick Paul of the American Red Cross. "They do have utilities. They're comfortable in there. It's just a matter of ingress and egress. It's dangerous. We've had one woman fall and break her leg. It's just not a good situation."

There was no immediate word when the evacuated residents would be allowed back inside their homes.