FIRE ESCAPE FLOOR FALLS OUT- STERLING PLACE 5TH AVE

Heard a loud sound walking down 5th Ave this afternoon- upon closer inspection, a large piece of a fire escape- part of the FLOOR of the FIRE ESCAPE FELL rom the 4th floor of a building on Sterling Place.

The nearest awning said 11-13 Sterling. Big blue awning, not sure if that's the address though. It's the North side of the street, just a little bit in from 5th Ave.

Nobody was hurt, thankfully, but it was a very large piece of iron, roughly 4-6 square feet, and weighing at least 50lbs, judging from the size. Could have easily killed someone. It looks like it got knocked loose while some men were painting the fire escape.

The fact that it fell means that it was not secure in the first place- this is the FLOOR of the FIRE ESCAPE that fell out, keep in mind. If a light poke with a paint roller caused it to fall, imagine what would happen if a person tried walking on it!

I called 311, who forwarded me directly to 911 and they said they sent cops to check it out; I didn't stick around to wait for them. Hopefully they inspect the rest of the building before anything else falls off...