A ninth person was rescued Monday from a partially collapsed apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, the Quad-City Times reported, as some residents remain unaccounted for and officials make plans to demolish the remaining structure.
Lisa Brooks had been unaccounted for since part of the building broke away Sunday, her family members told news outlets. She was rescued after officials earlier Monday said they had moved from a rescue to a recovery operation and made plans to begin demolition.
Brooks called her daughter from the fourth floor of the building Monday, the Quad-City Times said, and family members rushed to alert firefighters and police officers on scene to her location. The firefighters raised a bucket ladder and rescued Brooks, who was taken to a hospital for evaluation, the newspaper reported.
Eight others previously had been rescued from the crumbled building, and more than a dozen people were assisted in evacuating the site, city officials had said. It is unclear how many people officials believe are unaccounted for, and no deaths have been reported.
The cause of the collapse has not been determined, and the building's owners had current permits for repairs to the exterior wall, officials said.
"After extensive rescue operations, no confirmed viable signs of life were noted," the city said in a news release Monday night. "After multiple rescue evolutions over the course of the 24 hours since the incident, crews were unable to find any victims in need of rescue."
Yet, the Davenport Police Department had not accounted for all known residents of the building, city officials said in the same release. The police department is trying to contact all unaccounted-for residents, including by reaching out to their families, the release said.
With the building's outside wall stripped in a wide swath -- exposing in one spot a bathtub and clothes still hanging in a closet -- the collapse evoked memories of the 2021 condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida, that killed 98 people. Just last month in New York City, a parking garage with property violations collapsed, killing one person and injuring at least five.
Amid the effort to track down all the Davenport building's residents, engineers are considering how to handle demolition. Early Monday afternoon, city officials said the owner of the property had been served with a demolition order and the process was expected to begin Tuesday morning.
But in the Monday night statement, the timeline for demolition wasn't as clear, with the release saying, "The building remains in imminent danger of collapse with the condition on site continuing to worsen."
"It is the opinion of the structural engineer that the debris pile is currently contributing to the stability of the building and that removal could jeopardize or accelerate the inevitable collapse of the building," the release said. "Building officials are working with Valley Construction on a plan to safely dismantle and demolish the remaining structure."
"The necessity to demolish this building stems specifically from our desire to maintain as much safety for the surrounding areas as possible," said Rich Oswald, director of the city's Development and Neighborhood Services.
The damage occurred when the back section of the apartment building, known as The Davenport, detached from the rest of the structure, Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said. The collapse Sunday triggered a large natural gas and water leak that required emergency crews to halt their search and rescue efforts until the utilities could be secured, he said Monday.
Residents will not be allowed back into the building due to safety concerns, officials said.
The collapse destroyed entire rooms of residents' cherished possessions and left some with no place to live, they said.
Army veteran Fred Voorhis lost every piece of memorabilia from his 21-year military service, along with several essential medications, he told CNN affiliate KGAN. Voorhis was sleeping when the collapse occurred.
"I opened up the door to my apartment and there was daylight. It was supposed to be a hallway," Voorhis told the affiliate. With his home ruined, he said he has no idea where he will live.
"There's no backup plan," he said.
Collapse was 'like a bomb'
Paul Stephenson, who was visiting a friend who lived in the building at the time of the collapse, told CNN affiliate KWQC that he was able to help his friend escape the building, but hasn't seen him since emergency crews escorted residents away Sunday night.
The moment of collapse was "like a bomb" resonating throughout the building, he said.
"It was so dark in there. I just knew my way around," Stephenson said, describing how he helped guide his friend from the rubble but had to leave his phone behind in the chaos.
"I'm still looking for my friend," he said. "But I know he's safe because I got him out."
He said he knows others, however, who are nervously awaiting word from their loved ones.
Davenport Mayor Mike Matson acknowledged the collapse is "devastating to the residents of this building and also to our community."
"My prayers are with the families of those who remain unaccounted for and for a swift recovery for those who were injured," Matson said.
