Parking garage floor collapses under firetruck in Chicago

CHICAGO (SUN TIMES MEDIA WIRE) - A firefighter was hurt Tuesday when part of a parking garage collapsed under a fire engine in the South Shore neighborhood.

The engine was parked on the second story of the garage about 10:40 a.m. when part of the parking deck collapsed underneath it in the 2400 block of East South Shore Avenue, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford and Chicago police.

The engine's bumper caught on a section of the deck that had not collapsed and prevented the truck from falling, Langford said.

No cars on the lower level appeared to be damaged and no one was trapped beneath it, authorities said.

"It was very quick. It was a sudden concrete collapse failure," CFD Chief of Special Operations Tim Walsh said in a news conference. "They heard a loud crash and the engine fell into the hole."

An engineer inside the vehicle escaped safely out a rear door, and was taken to a hospital for delayed back pain from the collapse, a fire department spokesperson said. His condition had stabilized.

The section of garage that fell did not appear to have a support beam below it, and the rest of the garage appeared in sound condition, Walsh said.

The engine was at the garage to assist an ambulance with a medical call, which was completed without delay, Walsh said. He said engines have parked in that area of the garage in the past.

The water in the engine's tanks was drained to reduce its weight and make removal easier, Walsh said. Engines filled with water can weigh as much as 42,000 pounds, he said.

A crane arrived about 5 p.m. and removed the engine, Langford said. The engine had minor damage and was able to be driven to a garage for inspection.

The garage is adjacent to the Symphony of South Shore rehabilitation center at 2425 E. South Shore Drive and near the University of Chicago Medicine Outpatient Senior Health Center at 7101 S. Exchange Ave.