Cañon City officials picking up the pieces after a partial building collapse, family displaced

CAÑON CITY, Colo. (KRDO) -Emergency responders are now picking up the pieces in Cañon City after a building partially collapsed downtown leaving a family displaced and two local businesses closed.

KRDO13 spoke with the family that lived in the apartment in the building. They say that they are devastated that the place they called home is now destroyed.

You can still see their chairs and decorations on the second floor where they lived but, emergency crews are not letting them get their belongings because they don't know if the structure will hold up if they go inside. 

The Cañon City area fire protection district says the collapse happened just before 5:20 p.m. yesterday.  Firefighters found portions of a first and second-floor exterior collapsed. The city says two businesses are impacted as well as one family. 

Cañon City officials say a structural engineer is working on assessing the building. The city currently has an asbestos company on-site. But until the city can determine what happened no one is allowed inside the building for safety precautions.

The city is also working to figure out if they will need to tear the entire building down.

The displaced family is staying with loved ones for now and the city says it doesn't know how long the investigation into this collapse will take.  To donate to the family impacted, click here.