The building at 324 Main Street is now fully dismantled. Site cleanup has begun and is expected to take several weeks. The public should anticipate an increase in vehicles in and around the site as well as exiting at 4th and Harrison streets as debris is removed. 

The City of Davenport has engaged the Chicago-based White Birch Group, LLC and SOCOTEC Engineering to conduct a cause and origin report on the partial collapse of the building at 324 Main Street. Both firms are highly regarded and have considerable experience in this type of investigation. The duration of the assessment is not known at this time. The completed report will first be shared with relevant agencies and oversight authorities. When deemed appropriate, it will also be shared with the public.

Over the past week, the City has been engaged with structural engineers, regulatory authorities and contracting company that have advised when best and how to fully dismantle the partially collapsed building at 324 Main Street. This has been a thorough planning process that has considered asbestos removal and the impact on neighboring properties. Part of the preparation included inspections of nearby structures to determine their vulnerability. That last resulted in the City ordering the vacation of the remaining occupied apartments at 400 and 410 North Main Street. 

It is anticipated that crews will begin the dismantling process on Monday, June 12. Once the dismantling work is complete, crews will then need to remove the debris and clear the site. This process is expected to take several weeks.

On May 27, 2023 at approximately 2:48 p.m., the Davenport Fire Department was dispatched to 324 Main Street. While on scene, the Davenport Fire Department observed active work occurring and external shoring was in place and observable.

Later that day, inspectors with the Development and Neighborhood Services Department arrived on scene and determined that the work appeared to be progressing in accordance with the plans and specifications previously submitted by a professional engineer. They observed that the external shoring was in place with no observable signs of difficulty or bowing in the external shoring. Once inspectors left, work continued on the building on May 27 and throughout the day on Sunday, May 28.

More than 24 hours elapsed between the time of these site visits and the partial building collapse. The matter remains under investigation.

On June 8, 2023 City staff, in coordination with structural engineers, assessed the conditions of structures adjacent to 324 Main Street. This work is being done in advance of increased dismantling activity at the partially collapsed building. 

During this assessment it was determined that the building at 400 and 410 North Main Street (commonly known as the Executive Square Building) had areas of structural concern. Out of an abundance of caution, the City ordered the remaining five residential units in the property to be vacated. (The majority of the residential and all business units at the Executive Square Building were vacated on May 31, 2023, in response to the partial building collapse of 324 Main Street.) The building is now completely vacated.
 
In addition, the City has ordered the property owner to install temporary structural shoring to the interior of the building prior to commencement of dismantling of 324 Main Street.
 
The Red Cross stands ready to assist those who have been displaced. Displaced residents may call 1-800-RED-CROSS for assistance.

On Monday evening, Iowa Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue demobilized their unit, concluding the recovery phase of the operation at 324 Main Street. Operations have now transitioned to the dismantling of the partially collapsed building. Crews have cleared the debris pile to the foundation floor and will continue removing debris from the site today.

Earlier this evening, Iowa Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue team demobilized their search, rescue and recovery efforts at 324 Main Street. USAR has determined that the building is clear of collapse victims and collapsed building material from the foundation of the building has been removed.

Three victims have been recovered from scene over the past 48 hours:

• Saturday June 3, 2023 – 11:59 a.m. – Victim recovered and forensically identified as Branden Colvin Sr., 42 years of age of Davenport
• Sunday June 4, 2023 – 12:25 p.m. – Victim recovered and forensically identified as Ryan Hitchcock, 51, years of age of Davenport
• Monday June 5, 2023 – 02:30 a.m. – Victim recovered and forensically identified as Daniel Prien, 60 years of age of Davenport

Over the weekend, City officials met with and notified the families of Branden and Ryan. We have also notified Daniel’s family who is out of state. Honoring family wishes, the City delayed releasing information to allow for the families to make their own notifications. 

Information Update as of June 5, 2023 @ 10:00 a.m.  | Press Conference

Click here to watch.  

Overnight crews continued operations at 324 Main Street, focusing on the material pile and removing material from the scene. This work will continue throughout the day today with crews working 12 hour shifts around the clock.

324 Main Street Partial Building Collapse Information Update as of June 3, 2023 at 6:10 p.m. | Update Produced by the IMT Team Can be Watched Here

The Northwest Illinois Incident Management Team (IMT) was requested by the City of Davenport to assist the recovery process of the partial building collapse at 324 Main Street and has arrived on scene. The IMT brings a wealth of knowledge in many different areas most notably operations, planning, and logistics.

Incident Management Team (IMT) refers to a group of trained personnel that responds to an emergency. The incident management team concept was originally developed for wildfire response, although it has been expanded into what is now known as "All-Hazards Incident Management Team”. An AHIMT can respond to a wide range of emergencies, including fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunami, riots, spilling of hazardous materials, and other natural or human-caused incidents. The Northwest Illinois Incident Management Team is comprised of members from the public and private sectors including law enforcement, fire service, emergency management and health care.

Last night, crews on site at 324 Main Street began removing pieces of the building to control falling hazards. This is to support the recovery efforts of first responders on scene.

In order to facilitate the recovery effort at 324 Main Street, several logistical changes are taking place at the site of 324 Main Street today.

• The fence securing the site is subject to movement based upon movement of equipment needed on the site.
•  A notice to all drone operators, the FAA has implemented a temporary flight restriction (TFR) within a mile radius of 324 Main St. Drone operations is prohibited and impedes recovery efforts.
• Traveling public should avoid downtown as traffic patterns are likely to shift on short notice.

Yesterday afternoon, Iowa Task Force One was mobilized through a request by Davenport’s Incident Command Team to provide assistance through the Iowa Department of Homeland Security for a comprehensive urban search and rescue team. 

Iowa’s two divisions of Iowa Task Force One – based in Cedar Rapids and Sioux City - both mobilized and arrived on-scene as quickly as possible.  Total personnel on-site is approximately 45.  We were tasked with completing a reconnaissance of the building to search for survivors and those presumed to have perished in Sunday’s building collapse.

That search was completed before sundown last night and that allowed us to move to the next phase of our mission, shoring and securing the building for controlled recovery.  Iowa Task Force 1 has installed shoring on the exterior walls and we are continuing to work with on-site commanders to provide search and recovery capabilities in accordance with their needs.

Iowa Task Force One will remain on-site and engaged with this process until further notice.

Information Update as of June 2, 2023 @ 10:00 a.m. Press Conference

Click here to watch.  

On May 31, 2023, a formal request to the state level Emergency Operations Center through Homeland Security was made for additional support and to engage state assets to assist with recovery operations at 324 Main Street.

On June 1, 2023, Task Force 1 USAR team arrived in Davenport and a joint meeting was held between the Davenport Fire Department, Task Force 1, City Administration and Development and Neighborhood Services Department. After the joint meeting the USAR team arrived on site with live and cadaver canines and have entered the building as per FEMA protocols. Task Force 1 personnel have re-entered the building to re-verify and mark all rooms with standard FEMA markings.

In addition, the City has enlisted D.W. Zinser Commercial Demolition company to assist with recovery and demolition work. Shoring materials, equipment and heavy rescue and removal equipment will arrive on site later this evening. Zinser is assisting Task Force 1 with recovery efforts.

The next press conference is scheduled for Friday, June 2nd
at 10:00 a.m.

On May 30, 2023, the City of Davenport issued a municipal infraction to the owner of 324 Main Street, initiating a legal action. This legal action was taken to ensure the owner of the property cannot transfer the property to another owner in an effort to avoid a large lien that is expected when the response has been completed.

Over the past 72 hours, in coordination with the Red Cross, building owner, building property managers, families and friends, DPD staff began an investigation with the goal of identifying and locating the tenants in the building.

As of June 1, 2023 at 10:00 a.m., based on consolidated information, there are three unaccounted for individuals.

Brandon Colvin

Ryan Hitchcock

Daniel Prien

It is believed these three individuals have high probability of being home at the time of the collapse and their apartments were located in the collapse zone.
 
Following Davenport Police Department protocol, Brandon, Ryan and Daniel will be place in the National Database of Missing Persons. Missing Persons flyers are also being created and will be disseminated to the media.
 
324 Main Street has a history of transient population within this building. City staff is aggressively collaborating with partners who serve this population to ensure all are accounted for.

Over the past 36 hours, there have been many questions from both the media and community members regarding the status of a permit that was issued to 324 Main Street on May 25, 2023. City staff understands the confusion and concern of the public on this issue. Yesterday it was investigated on what happened and we would like be fully transparent in what happened, as we know this is a sensitive subject.

On May 25, 2023 a permit was created by a staff member in the City of Davenport permitting software system. While creating the permit record, a check box for passing the permit was inadvertently clicked due to clerical error. Later that day (May 25), City staff was on site conducting an inspection of the work progress being done. This work was not completed at the time of inspection.
 
After the inspection on May 25, the staff member responsible for completing the documentation of the on-site inspection left town. When the staff member returned to the office on May 30, they entered their notes from the onsite inspection from May 25 into the system. At that time, the error of the permit being noted as “passed” was changed to “incomplete”, which is what triggered the external facing system to present as “failed”.
 
The City recognizes the gravity of the error that was made and the resignation of the staff that was involved was given yesterday.
 
The second part of this was the failed status of the permit. The permit was noted as “failed” due to an IT glitch that caused the permit to be shown on the public facing system as “failed” when marked incomplete on the internal system. The two screen shots attached show the internal facing system and the public facing system. The permit was never failed after inspection, but rather was marked as incomplete. The IT Department is working to correct this issue.
 
The status of “incomplete” is accurate. The work for this permit was not completed prior to the collapse of the building and thus no assessment of pass or fail could be attributed to this permit. 

Again the City would like to acknowledge the sensitivity of this issue and ensure our community we are handling this with the up most attention.

On site today at 324 Main Street was Shive Hattery, the engineering firm hired by the City of Davenport. While on site, the engineers utilized a forensic LIDAR drone to further assess damage to the building and its structural stability.

Also on site was the property owner’s insurance firms representatives and structural engineers to complete an independent structural damage assessment.

Over the past 72 hours there have been several inquires for records regarding 324 Main Street.

The City has compiled several often requested documents and has placed them on the City’s website located here.

As discussed at this morning’s press conference, earlier this afternoon the Davenport Fire Department in partnership with MABAS 43 Technical Rescue Team conducted an additional operation within portions of the 324 Main St. building that presented as acceptable risk for emergency response entry in the opinion of the structural engineer and rescue technicians.

During this operation, several animals were rescued and delivered to the Scott County Humane Society. Crews continued to search for human activity and none was detected.
 
The stability of the building continues to degrade. The recovery of any unaccounted for individuals remains the priority of the City as operational planning progresses.

Press Conference (click to watch) | Speakers included the following individuals: Mayor Mike Matson, Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten, Davenport Chief of Police Jeff Bladel, Davenport Fire Marshall Jim Morris, Davenport Development & Neighborhood Services Director Rich Oswald, Larry Sandhaas, Sr. Structural Engineer at Shive-Hattery, and Amy Anderson, Family Member of Ryan Hitchcock. 

In the interest of public safety, the City has been continually evaluating the timing of the demolition of 324 Main Street since its initial collapse 36 hours ago. Demolition is a multi-phase process that includes permitting and staging of equipment that will begin today. The timing of the physical demolition of the property is still be evaluated. The building remains structurally insecure and in imminent danger of collapse.  

The Davenport Police Department and the Davenport Fire Department are asking the public to be aware of the public safety concerns regarding the stability of the 324 Main Street building and avoid the area. Crews are currently clearing 4th Street between Main Street and Harrison Street and 4th Street will remained closed until further notice. 

On Sunday, May 28, 2023 at approximately 4:55 p.m. the Davenport Fire Department and Davenport Police Department responded to 324 Main Street for a report of a building collapse.

Crews from Davenport Fire, Davenport Police and Davenport Public Works immediately responded to the scene to secure the surrounding area and respond to the active incident which necessitated the need for utility disconnection.

Upon initial arrival, the Davenport Fire Department was able to safely locate and assist over a dozen individuals via self-evacuation from the property. Once utilities were secured and improved conditions, the Davenport Fire Department was able to continue search and rescue operations.

The City of Davenport is grateful for the aid of several partner agencies including Bettendorf Fire, Moline Fire, Rock Island Fire, Bettendorf Police, Scott County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa State Patrol. Total scene response is estimated at over 150 personnel.

Due to the complex nature of the incident, the Davenport Fire Department requested both regional and state resources to assist with the technical rescue efforts.  MABAS43 and MABAS39 units and Iowa Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team were brought in to respond to the scene.

These units are equipped with and utilized specialized equipment and supplies to safely shore up the structure, gain access to victims, and extricate them from unique situations. Using thermal imagining, drones as well as a team of service dogs, they attempted to locate victims within the structure.

MABA43, MEDIC, local medical professionals, located and extricated a victim. Due to the nature of her injuries and entrapment, extraction took an extended period of time.

“The events of Sunday night are tragic and complicated,” said Davenport Fire Chief Mike Carlsten. “An incident like this requires the hard work and expertise of all of our first responders as well as the cooperation of partner agencies. I am proud of everyone’s efforts.”

After extensive rescue operations, no confirmed viable signs of life were noted.  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.

As efforts to save lives and secure the safety of the surrounding area were underway, the City of Davenport hired an independent and certified structural engineer to evaluate the structural integrity of the building. After conferring with City building officials, it was determined that the building had sustained substantial damage, severely compromising the integrity of the building.

At this time, 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. Building officials are working with Valley Construction on a plan to safely dismantle and demolish the remaining structure. 

Throughout the day Monday, the Davenport Police Department (DPD) has been working to make contact with and account for all individuals known to be residents in the building at the time of the collapse. Currently, there are unaccounted  individuals that were residents of the property. DPD is continuing to attempt communication with individuals that are unaccounted for, including being in contact with families of those individuals.

“This situation is devastating to the residents of this building and also to our community. My heartfelt condolences go out to those who have lost their home and possessions. My prayers are with the families of those who remain unaccounted for and for a swift recovery for those who were injured,” said Davenport Mayor Mike Matson. 

“With the current structure in imminent danger of collapse, 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 Development and Neighborhood Services. “We appreciate the expertise of the professionals collaborating on site to determine the best way to do this.”

The City plans to hold a press conference on Tuesday, May 30 2023 at 10:00 a.m. in the Davenport Police Community Room to provide further incident updates.

On Monday, May 29, 2023 at approximately 9:45 a.m., the Davenport Fire Department transitioned to a recovery operation at 324 Main Street and turned control of the site over to the Davenport Development and Neighborhood Services Department.

The owner of the property has been served with a notice and order for demolition of the property. The property is currently being secured by a contractor on site this afternoon and demolition is expected to commence in the morning.

Due to the unstable condition of the property, and in the interest of public safety, residents will not be allowed back into the building. Residents who have been displaced can receive assistance through the Red Cross and Salvation Army. Contact information is below:

Red Cross | 1-800-REDCROSS

Salvation Army | 100 Kirkwood Blvd | 563-324-4808 | Open 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.  Tuesday-Friday this week

Community members wishing to make donations to those in need can do so through the Quad Cities Community Foundation or through the Salvation Army.

The Quad Cities Community Foundation has opened the Quad Cities Disaster Recovery fund to assist residents who have been displaced. Those wishing to donate to the fund can do so at www.qccommunityfoundation.org/qcdisasterrecovery.

Davenport Salvation Army will be assisting in collection of donations for residents that have been displaced. Donations may be dropped off at 4001 North Brady Street.

Davenport Fire Chief Carlsten and Mayor Matson provide an updated on the 324 Main Street building collapse. Click here to watch the video.

Davenport Fire Chief Carlsten and Mayor Matson provide an updated on the 324 Main Street building collapse. Click here to watch the video. 

 On Sunday, May 28, 2023 at approximately 4:55 p.m. the Davenport Fire Department and Davenport Police Department responded to the 324 Main Street for a report of a building collapse.

Crews from Davenport Fire, Davenport Police and Davenport Public Works are currently on scene to secure the surrounding area and respond to the active incident including utility disconnection.

The public is asked to avoid the downtown area.
 
Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church is serving as a reunification point.