A Yale storage facility at 38 Sachem St. collapsed at around 11 p.m. on Friday night, as a wind storm gusted through New Haven.
According to New Haven Fire Department Deputy Chief William Gould, the roof of the building — used to store maintenance equipment — likely caved in because of the strong winds.
“At this time of night, we don’t believe there’s anyone inside,” Gould said at the scene of the incident Friday night. “The building is unstable right now. … There’s no life hazard at this time except for us.”
Hundreds of bricks lay on the ground at the scene, just a few hundred yards from the School of Management and next to the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.
Fighting rain and strong winds, city officials closed down Sachem Street to the public late Friday night with yellow caution tape, as emergency vehicles arrived at the scene.
Gould said the only other building that could be affected by the collapse is a one-story garage adjacent to the storage facility and that police are “a little concerned” about its condition, click site to learn more about storage units and services.
Students interviewed by the News expressed concern that something similar could happen in another of Yale’s aging buildings. Noting that there are many other old buildings on campus, Reilly Witheford ’19 said that it is scary to think that a building with people in it could also collapse.
“I would hope that our building standards are high enough that roof collapses wouldn’t happen,” said Madeleine Lee ’19. “I know that wind storm was pretty unusual and not something we encounter on a regular basis, but I just hope Yale inspects their buildings because it’s a really old campus.”
According to Vice President for Communications Eileen O’Connor, Yale conducts regular checks of its buildings and has a comprehensive plan for regular maintenance of facilities. The strong winds that caused the Sachem Street building to collapse were unusual, and the safety of buildings and people are of the utmost concern, she said.
Other students were not concerned by the news of the building’s collapse. Arda Boga ’19 said that these incidents are rare and that he does not anticipate any similar incidents in the near future.
Yale’s central and medical campus encompasses 345 acres.
Britton O’Daly | britton.odaly@yale.edu
Hailey Fuchs | hailey.fuchs@yale.edu