LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - Crews have begun the process of removing a crane that fell onto two homes in Lauderhill.
Thursday evening, a huge chunk of the crane was lifted off one of the houses, but there is still more work to be done.
“They’ve taken the boom part completely apart, and they’re gonna ship out on a truck later on tonight,” said Lauderhill Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Jeff Levy. “Then they’re gonna prep the truck, the actual base of the crane, for removal tomorrow.”
In the 24 hours since the crane collapsed near Northwest 11th Street and 44th Terrace, Wednesday, fire rescue crews have been working to take apart the machinery, while residents deal with power outages, street closures, a boil water notice and in some cases, no water at all.
So far, all but 11 homes in the area have water, and power has been restored to the neighborhood, except for the two homes damaged by the crane.
“We had power first. It came in at 1 a.m. when we got power, and then we got water maybe about 2:30 p.m.,” said neighbor Ernest Feacher.
However, before power was restored, residents said they were living in conditions that many Floridians have experienced before.
“[We’re] doing what we usually do for a hurricane, no different. Talking to the neighbors, seeing if anybody needs anything and just waiting,” said resident Brandie Bricketts.
Bricketts lives across the street from the houses the crane toppled onto. She said despite the lack of utilities, she was still grateful to have a home to go to.
“The person with the house that’s destroyed is probably the most important right now. We can go without water. It stinks, but we have a house with a roof,” Bricketts said.
Two houses were hit by the crane, with the house sustaining the most damage being rendered uninhabitable.
Two people were directly injured, including a resident of one of the homes and the crane operator himself.
“He was in a lot of pain last night,” said Glennise Charles, the aunt of the injured resident. “At the time that the thing happened, he was in shock, so he had a little pain, but it hit him more.”
According to investigators, the crane came down after it became unstable while workers were installing a Florida Power and Light pole.
Now, all efforts are focused on getting the crane off the homes and repairing the damage caused by the crash.
“They want to make sure that it’s safe. It’s a heavy piece of equipment,” said Lauderhill Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Jeff Levy. “It’s a slow process. It’s a slow, tedious process. They want to make sure that it’s safe.”
The exact cause of the crash is still unknown, but Bricketts said crews did share a bit of information.
“They said something about the ground being soft, but I would think that’s something you’d test before you bring a crane in,” she said.
A family of six lived inside the house that sustained the most damage. They are currently being put up in a hotel by the crane company.
Once the crane is removed from the home, engineers will determine exactly how much damage it sustained.
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