Ring Doorbell Captures Buiding Collapse in Massachusetts

A Ring doorbell camera captured the moment an apartment building collapsed in eastern Massachusetts on Sunday morning.

The building in Brookline, MA, was under construction at the time, and nobody was inside when it suddenly gave way, much to the shock of residents nearby.

Fire and police crews arrived to find that the second and third floors of the building had fallen down leaving only the first floor and facade intact. The building was later raised, according to The Boston Globe.

Deputy Fire Chief Kyle McEachern says that the falling building damaged two cars as it came down.

The cold weather in Massachusetts is thought to have contributed to the collapse but crews are still evaluating the site on 50 Vernon Street.

“At this time the cause of the collapse is unknown,” the Town of Brookline says in a statement. “All building permits for this site are active and valid. The scene will be secured until the structure has been stabilized and we ask everyone to abide by the perimeter for their own safety.”

The Ring doorbell camera captured the sound of a huge bang before the walls began peeling away. It cuts off abruptly before the full impact is seen and that’s because of the camera’s automatic motion sensor — it doesn’t just record continuously.

”My neighbor caught the whole thing on their ring camera, so you could actually watch it go ‘boom’,” local resident Maria Davila tells the Globe.

Another resident, Rym Baouendi, tells WBZ-TV that she was shoveling snow from her sidewalk when the building fell just a few feet away.

“I was just screaming, saying, ‘My neighbors! My neighbors!’ I thought they were in the car. But luckily no one was there, and it seems like no one was hurt,” Baouendi says.

Six people have been displaced, according to the Globe, and have been forced into hotels. The Red Cross is assisting those affected.

While there are legitimate privacy concerns over the Amazon-owned Ring company, the security cameras also have a habit of capturing incredible things that otherwise wouldn’t be documented. Case in point: a doorbell camera captured the sight and sound of a meteorite crashing to Earth last month.