A London hoarder had a lucky escape when her ceiling collapsed under the weight of 20 tonnes of rubbish.Wendy Towers, 61, of Forest Gate, east London, was feared dead and buried beneath the rubble by neighbours when they contacted police on Tuesday after seeing that her living room ceiling had caved in.
Luckily for Ms Towers she was staying with
a friend when the ceiling gave way and returned to her home of 30 years last night unaware of what had happened.The waste disposal company involved in clearing the house claimed there was "at least 20 tonnes of stuff in there.”
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Chamber of Hoarders Learning Point:
- Collapse risk should always be considered when entering the Hoarded environment
- Even a Ceiling collapse could injure or kill a First Responder
- Evaluating for structural stability should be a fluid part of the response
- Estimating the level of Hoarding Conditions 1-5 and the weight should be included in size up.
- Shoring should be available if suspected collapse is immanent