Squatters Rescued After Quake-Damaged House Collapses

A three-story Victorian house that had been condemned after the Northridge earthquake collapsed Tuesday, forcing firefighters to rescue two homeless squatters inside and leaving an elderly neighbor hospitalized with chest pains, authorities said.

The house in the 1100 block of South Magnolia Avenue had been “red-tagged” after the January quake and was presumed empty, said Los Angeles City Assistant Fire Chief Bob Neamy. However, unknown to city officials, it had become a haven for homeless people, some of whom had been sleeping there for more than two months.

Mack McKay, 48, said he had spent Monday night with several other homeless people on the second floor of the house and was preparing to bunk down for a second night when, about 4:45 p.m., “everything just started shaking and falling down.”

McKay managed to escape unaided as the collapse crushed part of the first floor. Two other transients inside had to be rescued by firefighters, authorities said.

The house finally came to rest against a neighboring home, whose frightened 79-year-old occupant was hospitalized for chest pains, Neamy said. The woman was in stable condition Tuesday night, he said.