By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
A building collapse on West Pike Street in downtown Covington Thursday left four people chaperoning students on a field trip injured.
A building collapse at 121 West Pike Street in Covington injured four people who were chaperoning students on a field trip (photos by Mark Hansel).
Covington Fire Chief Dan Mathew said the department received the call for a report of a building collapse at about 11:15 Thursday morning.
Matthew said there were workers on the roof and a group of students and their chaperones were walking in front of the building when it collapsed.
“The false wall in the front of the building collapsed and fell onto the sidewalk out front there and a sign fell,” Mathew said. “It hit and injured four of the adults and the kids were unharmed. They didn’t get hit by anything, fortunately.”
A vehicle parked in front of the building was also seriously damaged.
Three of the injured were transported to the UC Medical Center and the other was sent to St. Elizabeth in Covington.
There is no word on the condition of those injured.
The students from Immaculate Heart of Mary in Burlington were on a field trip to the Parish Kitchen in Covington. Parish Kitchen is a ministry of Catholic Charities Diocese of Covington that serves meals to those in need.
Mathew said a structural engineer was performing an onsite examination to assess the structural integrity of the building to determine if it could be released to the owners.
For years the building at 121 West Pike Street was known as Steffen’s Tool Crib, but is now called Steffen’s Rental.
The owner of the building, which is more than 100 years old, is listed as Steffen Realty Inc. The property has an assessed value of $70,000, according to the Kenton County PVA website.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
