3rd building collapses on South Side after snow; 6 in Chicago so far in February

Jennifer Evans stands beside her car, which was damaged when the building at 748 W. 91st St. collapsed in the Brainerd neighborhood, Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 16, 2021. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Three more vacant buildings collapsed Tuesday on the South Side after a storm dumped a foot of snow in Chicago, raising the total number of collapses in February to six.

So far, the failed buildings are mostly structures nearing or over 100 years old and were vacant or abandoned, Chicago fire officials said.

“Sadly, we can expect more roof failures with the heavy snow load and sub-freezing temperatures,” officials said.

Nearly 18 inches of snow fell on Midway Airport overnight, according to the National Weather Service. Including earlier snowfalls, the airport had two feet of snow on the ground.

A collapsed building at 75th Street and Ridgeland Avenue, Feb. 16, 2021.

The latest building to fall was in South Shore, where a vacant building collapsed just before 5 p.m. near 75th Street and Ridgeland Avenue, according to fire officials. No injuries were reported, and fire officials said bowstring trusses in the roof were to blame.

In Brainerd, a man shoveling snow witnessed an abandoned building collapse about 9:20 a.m. in the 700 block of West 91st Street, according to Chicago police. No one was hurt, but two cars were damaged by falling debris.

Rubble was strewn around the site of a building collapse Feb. 16 in the 700 block of West 91st Street.

Also Tuesday morning, firefighters discovered a collapsed vacant building while driving in the South Chicago neighborhood, according to CFD spokesman Larry Langford. No one was hurt.

Inspectors determined the building, at 8801 S. South Chicago Ave., collapsed from a failure of bow trusses in the roof, according to Mimi Simon, a spokeswoman for the Department of Buildings. The walls remained stable.

Officials couldn’t say if the collapses were caused by snowy roofs.

A building collapsed Feb. 16 in the 700 block of West 91st St.

At least three other buildings have collapsed recently in Chicago due to snowy roofs.

On Monday, a building collapsed in the 2700 block of South Wells Street in the Bridgeport neighborhood. Another collapse was reported in Bridgeport Feb. 4, in the 200 block of West 26th Street.

On Sunday, a building with a snowy roof collapsed in Englewood, leaving at least one parked car damaged in the 5600 block of South Halsted Street.

In the suburbs, two buildings collapsed in Elgin in the last week. Early Tuesday, the roof of an indoor equestrian riding facility buckled under the weight of heavy snow in Morton Grove.