River Towers Condo: 32 Units 'Severely Damaged'

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- The following is an update from Mount Vernon District Supervisor Daniel Storck on the evacuation over the weekend of the River Towers Condo Building:

"One of the three River Towers condo buildings in the Mount Vernon District was evacuated after reports of structural damage.

Firefighters evacuated 400 residents Sunday afternoon. The building on Wakefield Drive was evacuated around 1:30 p.m., after residents felt the building shake. According to investigators, 180 condos are damaged , 32 of those severely. Officials said a column shifted a few inches which caused some cracks to form in the walls and crumbling of some bricks on the pillars outside of the building.

Sunday night, most of the residents were allowed to go back home. The 32 units over the columns are considered "uninhabitable," and it's uncertain when those residents will be able to return. At 10:30pm last night the only family from the 32 units displaced from River towers left the shelter to stay with friends. At midnight Emergency Management, Family Services and Red Cross agreed to close the shelter because we no one from the building needed this service.

At 10 am Monday, Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management had a conference call with the building management company and a member from the condo board as well as Red Cross and Family Services. The building management company stated that at 11 am they would have a private company onsite for an assessment and start shoring operations.

The management company had not heard back from their insurance company at that time. The management company was going to poll the residents from the 32 units displaced to see if they had any unmet needs and provide them with the contact information for Red Cross and Family services case managers that can assist them. The management company is going to have a meeting with the residents Monday evening to provide them with an update on the operations.

The representative from the management company will provide an update once the assessment is completed and they know how long the shoring operations should take. At that time we will have a much better picture of when residents from the 32 units will be able to reoccupy their homes. Additional support to the displaced building residents will be provided.

For more information and safety tips, visit the Fairfax County Dept. of Fire & Rescue on Facebook @fairfaxcountyfirerescue or http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fr/, and the Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/oem/."

PHOTO courtesy of Fairfax County Fire & Rescue