On Sunday afternoon, July 27th, the roof of a “Family Dollar” store in Kansas City, Missouri collapsed, resulting in one fatality and three injuries.
The Kansas City Fire Department stated that around 2:45 pm local time on Sunday, emergency responders rushed to the Family Dollar store located at 3726 Broadway Boulevard after receiving reports of a building collapse. Upon arrival, rescue personnel found that the front side of this American grocery chain store had collapsed.
Emergency responders from the Kansas City Police Department and other agencies also arrived at the scene to initiate search and rescue operations.
The Kansas City Fire Department confirmed that a 68-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, with three others sustaining injuries. One of the injured individuals, a 50-year-old woman, was taken to the hospital and later upgraded to “critical condition” on Sunday evening.
The other two injured individuals declined further treatment after receiving on-site medical evaluations.
The fire department in Kansas City clarified that the fatality and all injuries occurred outside the Family Dollar store building.
Fire Captain Mike Hopkins mentioned that the deceased man may have been passing by the building at the time of the incident.
According to a report from the local television station KMBC-TV in Kansas City, owned by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), public inspection records indicated that someone reported last Friday that the building had begun “tilting slowly.” Authorities have not yet provided an explanation for the collapse.
The incident led to the closure of the section of Broadway Boulevard between 36th and 38th Streets, while investigations are ongoing. The fire department in Kansas City stated that the lanes would likely remain closed until the collapsed building is secured.
The Kansas City Police Department has taken over the investigation.