PORTSMOUTH — A 15-year-old girl was killed, and three others seriously injured, when a platform atop a set of stairs leading to the second floor of the Portsmouth Portuguese-American Citizens Club (PPACC) collapsed during a graduation party early Saturday evening.

Police did not identify the deceased girl during a brief press briefing in front of St. Anthony’s Church across the street from the club at about 8:30 p.m. 

Three others received “significant” injuries, according to Assistant Fire Chief Howard Tighe: two 17-year-old girls and a 49-year-old woman. Those three were transported to Rhode Island Hospital, but Tighe said he had no update on their status as of Saturday night.

The Portsmouth Fire Department received multiple 911 calls around 5:34 p.m. Saturday reporting a partial building collapse with people trapped underneath the front stairwell of the PPACC, Tighe said.

The concrete stairwell is about 14 feet high, Tighe said. 

“The wall came down and there were multiple people injured. There were four injuries in total; unfortunately there was one fatality,” he said. 

“We worked in a prolonged extrication to get another teenager that was trapped underneath. They were transported to Rhode Island Hospital. There was another teenager that was transported earlier but we were able to get out on arrival, and an older adult.”

Two people were “significantly trapped,” Tighe said, and it took rescue workers upwards of 45 to 50 minutes to extricate one of them “because of the amount of cribbing we had to do and trying to lift the concrete wall up because she was trapped underneath. It took about an hour to get all the injured parties out.”

There was some chatter on social media that a car had struck the front of the building, causing the collapse. Tighe said rescue workers found no evidence of any motor vehicle involved.

“There’s no indication that it was anything but the front entranceway to the building that collapsed,” he said. “It appears they were on the landing, and the landing collapsed.”

About 75 people at party

There were about 75 people in the building for a graduation party, according to Police Chief Brian Peters. 

The reason for the collapse is still under investigation, the chief said. The building inspector came to the scene, and a determination is expected “within the next few days,” said Peters, adding that police will also be speaking with PPACC officials. 

For now, the building is closed and its power has been shut off; it will be up the building official to determine when it can reopen, Tighe said. “Obviously there may have been structural issues with the front,” he said.

Concerned bystanders

Police closed down Power Street at East Main Road to vehicles and did not allow anyone but rescue workers to access the site Saturday night. A few news cameras and about 20 concerned bystanders watched the operation from in front of St. Anthony’s Church.

Among them were Lillian Schiavone, Sage Macmillen, McKayla Muller, and Henry Marshall, middle school students who said they all knew the deceased girl. They were carefully monitoring their phones for any updates from friends and family members.

“A lot of people were saying she was here and we kind of knew because her parents were down there,” said Muller, pointing to the PPACC building. 

“I live down the road and people were asking us if we knew (the girl) and if she was OK,” said MacMillen.

Tighe said such a tragedy is hard on rescue workers, too.

“These tend to be more strenuous on the responders because of the type of situation they’re going into,” he said. “They’re trained for these types of incidents … but when it occurs, it can be a stress point for all. The town is good about having counseling services available.”

Portsmouth received mutual aid assistance from the Fall River, Bristol, Middletown, and Tiverton fire departments, while the Newport Fire Department covered the local station.