South Zanesville tenants displaced after ceiling caves in due to weight of rain

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Firefighters inspected the roof of the apartment for holes that could have been allowing water into the ceiling area.

By Jessica Johnston, Assistant News Director

The large amount of rain pouring over Ohio was too heavy for one apartment’s ceiling to handle as tenants in South Zanesville were displaced Friday evening after their ceiling fell into the apartment.

The South Zanesville Fire Department was alerted to a miscellaneous fire at the 72 E. La Salle St. apartments just after 10 p.m., but as crews arrived, they discovered there was no fire.

“The upstairs ceilings in the bedroom and the bathroom collapsed due to being overweight from the wet drywall [and] insulation,” South Zanesville Fire Chief Russell Taylor said of the affected unit.

Upon firefighters inspecting the apartment, a significant amount of drywall and plywood damage had occurred. Taylor said he feared that an ongoing leak had been challenging the structural integrity of the drywall and plywood in the unit for potentially years. There was also a large amount of mold found during inspection.

The tenants of the apartment were home at the time the ceiling collapsed, but no one was injured in the incident.

Firefighters inspected the roof of the apartment building, which has four units, and discovered a few soft areas but no holes needed patched, Taylor said.

The remaining three apartment units were also inspected. No other units sustained any damage, and the remaining tenants were returned to their units.

A family member is assisting the displaced tenants.

The South Zanesville Police Department was also on scene.