BOCA RATON, Fla. (WSVN) — Three people sustained minor injuries after multiple aisles collapsed at a Party City in West Boca Raton, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
Special operations rescue crews had to search the store with canines, Tuesday afternoon, for victims who may have been under the merchandise but fortunately didn’t find any.
According to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, after the store opened, at around 9:15, one big shelf full of merchandise fell over, causing a domino affect, knocking over several other shelves. "When we got here what we found were that a total of seven aisles had collapsed," said Palm Beach Fire Rescue Capt. Albert Barroto, "a domino effect onto each other."
Jan Almeida, who was at the back of the store, recalled hearing a loud bang when she saw the shelves collapsing one after another. "I mean, it was loud. I thought it was like the roof falling down," said Almeida.
Neighboring stores could also hear the commotion. Norbert Graber who works next door said the sounds resembled thunder.
The three customers injured were treated and released on the scene. "I was in the middle of it, the panel popped out, and I’m sitting in the middle of the panel, and everything else was hidden behind me. I was just saying, ‘Get out, get out, get out. It’s falling,’" said one man who was in the store. "Shelves are going to be falling, and these things are tall, so if somebody’s in between them and that shelf comes over on them, they’re gone."
Party City issued the following statement: "The safety of our customers and employees is our number one priority, and we are committed to providing a safe environment. We’re looking into the situation to pinpoint the exact cause, and the store remains closed at this time."
Maintenance workers outside the store told 7News that they came to check on the shelves because there was a problem with them, but it is still unknown what caused them to collapse. The store remains closed until further notice.