Residents of Dangerous Wisconsin Condo Rush to Move Belongings

Residents of a Waukesha condominium that could collapse are rushing to move their belongings out.

Police and firefighters cleared the six-story, 48-unit Horizon West Condominiums on Dec. 2 after an engineering report found its structural columns were compromised, echoing the condo collapse in Surfside, Florida, in June. Nearly 100 people died when that condo collapsed.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Friday that residents were being allowed inside one-by-one in four-hour shifts to move their belongings out. Only seven people could help per unit.

The Salvation Army has been providing some rooms but residents say they’re unsure where they’ll go next or whether insurance will cover their living expenses.

Mary O’Herron has lived in the building for 30 years. She had to fight back tears as she told the Journal Sentinel that she’s living in a bed-and-breakfast with her sister, who also has a unit in the condo, but they must move out by Christmas Eve to an apartment that O’Herron was still trying to secure as of this week.

“(But) we’re walking away with our lives,” she said.