PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — A man is recovering after being rescued from the basement of a Petersburg house where he was trapped for hours after a chimney collapsed.
At around 11 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 25, two people were doing renovation work on a house on Halifax Street in Petersburg when a chimney fell through the middle of the home. One of the two became trapped and Petersburg Fire and EMS responded to begin the effort to rescue him.
According to Interim Fire Chief Christopher McGann, crews were communicating with the man and providing medical service to him until he was finally rescued at around 3 p.m. Monday. He was then taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Tracy Owens-Summers, who lives near the home, said the collapse may have had something to do with the condition of the building itself.
“When I started seeing that they were going to start renovating the house, I was like ‘Why renovate that? Wood on wood is not going to last long,’” said Owens-Summers. “So I’m thinking they should have torn the house completely down and then rebuild from the ground up.”
After the man was rescued, crews remained at the house to stabilize the structure using lumber. The cause of the collapse has not yet been determined.
