Building Collapses In Greenfield, One Person Dead
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Rescue crews from 15 different agencies worked since 9:30 a.m., Monday, to rescue two construction workers buried under a collapsed building in Greenfield. They freed one of them in time, but could not reach his cousin in time to save him. This is the second building to collapse in Greenfield in recent years, and some residents said they are not surprised since the building is more than 100 years old. Hunter Hames was working in the lot right next to Legends Little Italy Pizza, but says he left right before it collapsed. “It’s a bad feeling, you know, it could’ve been any of us,” Hames said. “Thank God it wasn’t us. It’s really, really tragic.” Witnesses say Wilson Beals, who co-owns the pizza parlor, had just walked out the back door of the building when it collapsed. He was able to free himself from the rubble. But firefighters said it took them three hours to dig out Kevin Davis, 33, who had to be briefly hospitalized. It took them six-and-a-half hours to recover the body of Renardo Jackson, 33, Davis’ cousin. Firefighters reported finding Jackson buried 15 feet under the rubble. “We have what we call a trench rescue,” said Chief Bob Dudley of the Greenfield Fire Department. “We had to dig a hole with heavy equipment and shore up the dirt, so people could get in and actually dig this person out by hand.” But what caused the building to collapse, for now, remains a mystery. “The storms, I’m sure, had some effect on what happened here this morning. We had a bad storm last night and bad winds,” Chief Dudley said. He estimates there is $75,000 worth of damage. Dudley said an inspector will look at the building Tuesday morning to see when it is safe for businesses next door to move back in.
