Microburst believed to be to blame for ripping roof off apartment building in Mount Prospect, Illinois
Powerful winds ripped a large section of the roof from an apartment building and damaged several cars in the parking lot this weekend in northwest suburban Mount Prospect.
A day later, fire officials said they believe a microburst was to blame.
The roof of the building near Route 83 and Dempster Street happened Saturday evening, in one of multiple rounds of serious storms.
Kamil Seremak said his girlfriend called him to tell him the roof had been torn off, and when he got there, water was pouring down into the building's hallways. The two of them got their cats out of the building, and then started helping neighbors evacuate.
"The place was just getting flooded. I'm assuming some of the water pipes or something kind of came off with the roof, and the place was just kind of coming down," he said. "I guess it could have been part of the rain, you know, but I definitely think some water pipes or something definitely burst, or something, and the hallways were just kind of coming down. I mean, the water was waterfalls in every hallway coming down."
Several ambulances rushed to the scene, but there were no reports of injuries. Storm spotters in the area reported wind gusts of up to 60 mph at the time.
Meanwhile, Marcin Belizzynski's Nissan Rogue was severely damaged by the storm.
"The roof, the frame is off," he said. "Everything is broken."
Belizzynski said was coming home from work just before 4:30 p.m. Saturday. He said it started raining, and he debated whether he should wait the storm out in his sport-utility vehicle or go inside.
He made the split decision to go into his apartment.
"If I would have stayed in this car five more minutes, who knows if I would be here?" Belizzynski said. "Look at my car. Look at the scars."
Hours later at the Mount Prospect building Sunday afternoon, tensions were high as residents were not allowed inside for safety reasons — despite needing their medication in some instances.
Mount Prospect fire Deputy Chief Tom Wang said 300 residents live in the four-story apartment building near Route 83 and Dempster Street. He said about 60 units were impacted.
"Our firefighters arrived on scene. They went straight to the fourth floor to make sure there was no fire, and then immediately worked on evacuating the residents of the fourth floor and the entire building," Wang said.
CBS News Chicago spoke to a resident who lives on the fourth floor.
She didn't want to her identity known, but she says was in the living room, it started to rain and then she heard a loud noise.
"Suddenly, I'm looking at the sky and rain is coming on me," the resident said. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to think. I think for a moment I was somewhere else."
Robert Harms also lives in the building, and said he once had a roof over his head — and now he doesn't.
"I've been living here for 25 years. I've never seen anything that's been this devastating this quickly," he said. "Life can change in a heartbeat, and this is an example there."
The American Red Cross said it used the Mount Prospect Park District recreation center as a shelter for some residents Saturday night.
"We'll be feeding them three meals a day," said American Red Cross spokesman Hank Welch. "We've had to replace four or five different medications, because they can't go back in to get their meds — and providing a whole bunch of hugs, comfort and care."
The American Red Cross said nine residents will stay at Mount Prospect Park District Rec Center for the night, but they are looking for a new location because school programs start back up Monday.
Meanwhile, fire officials said the next step is for building managers to come out and see if the building is structurally sound.
