Three search and rescue workers and a dog approach the site of a building collapse in Davenport, Iowa, during a search, Thursday, June 1, 2023. (Grace Kinnicutt/Quad City Times via AP)

The partial collapse of an apartment complex in Davenport on May 28 has left people wondering about the cause, which is still under investigation.

Outgoing Marshalltown Housing and Community Development Director Michelle Spohnheimer said such incidents are unusual.

“In the 20 plus years I have been with the city, we have thankfully not experienced anything like this,” she said. “All communities are likely taking the opportunity to reflect when things like this happen and discuss what response looks like and if something could have been prevented. Building maintenance is an owner responsibility whether it is your own home or an investment property. It is important to conduct regular visual inspections of your property to look for changes so that you can be proactive rather than reactive.”

Many of the 3,300 rental units in Marshalltown are single family homes, and Spohnheimer said city officials are not concerned about any occupied buildings at this time.

“The city has managed many dangerous buildings, post-disaster, which were unoccupied,” she said. “If the city finds that a building is considered dangerous we can placard the property as unsafe for occupancy. Usually this has come as a result of something like a natural disaster, fire or accident, such as if a vehicle runs into a building.”

However, the city was previously running short of building inspectors before entering a contract with Safe Building LLC on Jan. 1 to conduct regular inspections.

“The schedule will be to get through all units every three years,” she said. “They began active inspections in February. Rental housing inspections are a basic health and safety inspection using the International Property Maintenance Code as a guide. These are not structural building inspections conducted by an engineer. On occasion if an inspector sees something of concern we may require the owner to hire a structural engineer to investigate further. This is not a common situation but following the tornado and derecho we did have this happen more frequently.”

The most common failures found in those basic inspections in Marshalltown include smoke detectors or electrical outlets not working, plumbing leaks, loose or missing hand guards or guard rails on staircases and excessive items blocking paths.

She said the city has required new construction to meet national building code standards for decades, and contracts with Veenstra & Kimm to conduct building code inspections of new construction to ensure that the code is met.

“We do not go back and inspect existing structures unless they are being renovated,” she said. “If tenants are concerned about their property they should first contact the property owner or manager with concerns, and they can also contact our office with questions.”

If an apartment complex in Marshalltown should happen to collapse, Spohnheimer said emergency responders would conduct an immediate search and rescue effort. Then other agencies would step forward.

“Typically in cases of tenant displacement agencies such as the Red Cross will assist in occupant relocation and services,” she said. “This is not a direct city function as our focus is targeted on the emergency response related to the building. We may have referral information for tenants on agencies to contact.”

On Friday, the search for survivors of the Davenport apartment complex collapse was completed. As of Sunday, two residents were still unaccounted for – Ryan Hitchcock and Daniel Prien – and are in the National Database of Missing Persons. The body of resident Brandon Colvin, who was previously listed as missing, was subsequently discovered on Saturday.

MARSHALLTOWN APARTMENT COMPLEXES

There are 12 apartment complexes in Marshalltown:

Crestview Apartments, 202 N. 2nd Ave.

Edgebrook Park Apartments, 513 E. Olive St.

Grant Park Apartments, 1 W. Grant St.

Lincoln Tower Apartments, 1500 Lincoln Tower Circle

Marshalltown Lofts, 20 E. State St.

Park Place, 1010 Washington

River Birch, 1601 Marion St.

River Oaks, 1509 Marion St.

Southern Hills Apartments, 2510 S. 6th St.

Sundance Apartments, 1401 S. 7th Ave.

Tallcorn, 2 N. 2nd Ave.

Westtown Senior Apartments, 122 W. Main St.

CONTACT CITY OFFICE

Residents with concerns about their rental complex can contact the Marshalltown Housing and Urban Development Office at:

Telephone: 641-754-5756

Address: 24 N. Center St.

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.