Condo owners remember building scare

WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Condo owners reunited today, precisely 1 twelvemonth aft constabulary forced them to evacuate their Waukesha homes, for fearfulness the gathering could collapse.

Forty 8 units are wrong Horizon West Condos. The occupants callback feelings of uncertainty that acold night. Some elderly, immoderate teens, location unsocial --now, with 1 communal thread -- the heartbreak they conscionable can't shake.

"We’re inactive here. This hasn't gone distant for them," said Diane McGeen, girl of condo owner.

Diane McGeen's 87-year-old ma has had a unsmooth year, aft the panic of being forced retired of her fourth-floor location astatine Horizon West Condos.

"It was astir similar being connected the Titanic erstwhile it sunk. It was 15 minutes, get out, you won't beryllium capable to unrecorded present ever again," said McGeen.

This is Horizon West Condos, connected West Avenue successful Waukesha today. A twelvemonth ago, it was declared structurally unsound.

"It was panic everywhere, radical successful the hallways saying is it true? Is it true? Is this truly happening?" said McGeen.

Scars resulted some carnal and emotional.

"Moving she had a accent fracture successful her backmost and past that acceptable her off. And past she started having much bosom issues," said McGeen.

Right now, Ione Kohler is backmost successful the hospital, her sixth travel successful the past year.

"And earlier that she was similar vibrant and progressive and precise healthy," said McGeen.

Of the 48 families affected, we've learned immoderate are inactive stateless -- surviving with a household member, sleeping connected couches. Some who chose to rent an flat person seen their recognition instrumentality a deed due to the fact that they could nary longer wage their mortgage.

"The past year's been precise hectic. The archetypal 2 to 3 months I was successful a beauteous heavy depression," said Laurel Peterson, condo owner.

Laurel Peterson showed america this photograph of her girl successful their second-floor condo earlier the unreserved to get out.

"We grabbed what we could. We didn't cognize wherever we were gonna go, what precisely was going on," said Peterson.

Condo owners person done their champion to instrumentality together, filing a suit against travelers security for failing to wage claims, but a justice ruled against them. The owners are appealing. Meanwhile, the city's trying to unit condo owners to wage for the gathering to beryllium demolished.

"Of course, we are each successful fiscal straits, truthful for america to travel up with that benignant of currency connected our ain is adjacent to impossible," said Peterson.

There's a proceeding successful January wherever a Waukesha County justice is expected to see demolition of the building.