Stairway Collapses In 4-Story Garage, 1 Person Feared Dead

Clearwater FL

20 December, 2021

2:44 PM

Description

CLEARWATER, FL — A private contractor remains on scene this evening at the stairwell collapse on Enterprise Road in Clearwater. The contractor is trying to secure equipment to begin dismantling the stairwell from the top down before any recovery process can begin. Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are also on scene. The city's Planning and Development Department is researching the permitting and construction history of the parking garage. It is hoped those records will be made available Tuesday. One person remains trapped and feared dead after the concrete stairwell of a four-story parking garage collapsed Monday. Cleawater Fire & Rescue Department crews, along with the Clearwater Police Department and other fire departments from across Pinellas County, were called to the scene at 12:35 p.m. at the parking garage next to the Tampa Bay Water administrative offices at 2575 Enterprise Road, just off Countryside Boulevard. Workers were conducting some stairwell repairs when the second and third levels of the stairway collapsed, trapping one worker in debris. Two other workers were able to get out of the garage uninjured. "It's still a little bit early in our operation, but we got an early report that two stories of a concrete stairwell came down on a worker," said Clearwater Fire Division Chief John Klinefelter. "We do believe at this point that it is a recovery operation." During a news conference Monday afternoon, Klinefelter said fire crews were still not able to enter the four-story parking garage. He said structural engineers were brought in to assess the building,"see if it is safe for us to proceed in there with a crew." They advised firefighters not to begin recovery efforts until construction equipment is brought in to remove the upper portions of the stairwell. Klinefelter added that the engineers say the stairwell is separate from the parking garage, so there is little risk of the parking garage collapsing. "At this point, we have heavy equipment that's on route to the location and will begin disassembling the stairwell from the corner of the parking garage," Klinefelter said. He said they're bringing in cranes and bulldozers to work from the top down. Once they reach the bottom, firefighters will be called back in for recovery efforts. Klinefelter said the family of the person trapped in the parking garage is on the scene and is being kept informed. Division Chief John Klinefelter briefs the media on the technical rescue call related to a stairwell collapse in a parking garage on Enterprise Road. pic.twitter.com/xEc5qYmS3T— Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department (@clearwaterfire) December 20, 2021