MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A section of a suburban Milwaukee shopping mall parking garage collapsed Thursday. Authorities said they don't believe anyone was injured.
News outlets tweeted and broadcast footage showing a section of the top two floors of the three-story garage at Bayshore Mall in Glendale laying on the first floor buried beneath a 10-foot high mound of snow.
North Shore Fire/Rescue Chief Robert Whitaker told reporters during a question-and-answer session at the scene that he was “fairly confident" no one was hurt, but firefighters would continue to search the snow mound.
“We dodged a bullet on this one, we certainly did,” Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy told reporters.
Whitaker said it appears snow had been piled on the third floor, and the extra weight may have played a role in the collapse. The garage was built in 2005 and 2006, Kennedy said.
The Milwaukee area has received about 23. 7 inches of snow since December, including 1.5 inches of wet sleet on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
“I don’t know why (the garage collapsed), but it appears snow would have some likely impact,” the chief said. “Piling snow on a property, especially if it's elevated, probably not a good idea.”
A slab of concrete fell from a parking garage in Milwaukee in June 2010, killing 15-year-old Jared Kellner and injuring two other people. A Milwaukee County jury ruled four years later that the insurance company for the firm that installed the panel owed $39 million in connection with the incident.
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This story has been updated to correct the day in the first paragraph to Thursday, instead of Friday.