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Crews work to repair damage from landslide that puts building in danger of collapsing

OCOEE, Fla. — Weather has been wreaking havoc on work crews trying to repair damage from a large landslide that put a building in danger of collapsing.

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Ocoee city officials have deemed the building unsafe while crews work to fix the problem. Three different medical offices are inside the building, including an eye doctor’s office, a pulmonary medicine business and a wellness center.

“Right now, we’re concerned with the backside of the corner of the footer falling in,” said Aaron Randall with William Edward Construction, who is working to clear out that area before crews can begin compacting the soil to shore it up.

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Early Wednesday morning, there was a blowout in the lines after a lift station broke, washing out the dirt and collapsing a transformer. That caused an explosion and fire.

Power is now shut off, the building is deemed unsafe and businesses are closed.

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Rain coming down in recent days and more expected over the weekend is making it harder for crews to fix the problem.

“If that corner falls in, it’ll collapse that whole side of the building, so it’s deemed unsafe right now until we get it fixed and everything,” Randall said.

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Jeff Deal

Jeff Deal, WFTV.com

I joined the Eyewitness News team as a reporter in 2006.

Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.