Embankment slides into Winooski River, damages home

Burlington city employees responded to a home on Plattsburg Avenue late Sunday morning after an embankment against the house slid into the Winooski River.

Both the property manager and a relative of the family who rents the home say they do not know what caused the embankment to fall, but they were hoping the house would not follow.

The tops of trees and sand could be seen in the water where the embankment used to stand near 292 Plattsburg Ave. Burlington Fire Department, Burlington Electric Department, Burlington Code Enforcement, Vermont Gas and Burlington Public Works were among the workers who responded to the scene.

A family of three rented the home from owners who live out of state, said father of one of the renters, Kurt Oughstun. Oughstun, of Williston, said he had received a call from his "panicked" daughter Marcianna around 10:30 a.m. telling him she, her husband and son had just run out of their house.

"They were having breakfast and he heard the old bridge abutment from the bridge that used to be across the Winooski River come down," Oughstun said. "The whole bank right behind their house just slid into the river. ... Their house is now right on the edge and they've got some structural damage. All their belongings are in the house. They're lucky this didn't happen at 2 o'clock in the morning."

The family had noticed the embankment's footings slipping a little within the last few weeks, Oughstun said. Oughstun said his daughter and her family thought everything was fine after they replaced the footings,

"That certainly was a forewarning that something was happening," Oughstun said. He said his daughter and her family had rented the home for about two years.

Oughstun said he understood that the foundation was compromised in the aftermath. Several trees also fell on the house on their way into the river.

Burlington Fire Department Deputy Chief Peter Brown said there is sandy soil under the home "actively moving still, and it is sliding down toward the Winooski River." Brown said the city's engineer is assessing the home and a neighboring house, and that emergency workers were able to go in briefly to grab a few of the family's belongings.

"No one's been hurt, and our plan is to keep it that way," Brown said.

He added, "The entire house is in danger of falling into the river. ... We're assessing right now what the best course of action is to keep that from happening."

The Agency of Natural Resources has also been contacted, Brown said.

Property manager Barbara Sweeney said she could not say much about the situation Sunday since an engineer was in the process of surveying the damage and she was working to get in touch with the company that insures the home. Sweeney said the couple for whom she manages the property built the home in the late 1980s. She said she has managed the Plattsburg Avenue property for 10 years.

Sweeney said she hopes the tenants can get back into the home at some point to collect their belongings.

"In 20 years of managing properties, this is probably the strangest phone call I've ever had," Sweeney said. "We really just feel bad for the tenants."

Editor's note: City records indicate that the home's address is 292 Plattsburg Ave. The address number was misstated in an earlier version of the story. 

Contributing: Wayne Savage, for the Free Press. Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LizMurraySMC.