Ceiling Collapses On Sleeping Evanston Couple

EVANSTON, IL — A bedroom ceiling collapsed onto the bed of an Evanston couple as they slept Wednesday, trapping them underneath until they could be rescued by firefighters. A Northwestern University professor of medicine credited the Evanston Fire Department with saving the life of his veterinarian wife in the incident, with both managing to avoid any serious injury.

Around 2:15 a.m., a secondary ceiling consisting of wire mesh and plaster mesh fell from its wooden supports in the Forest Avenue home of Jeff and Debbie Linder, according to fire officials and the residents.

"The ceiling collapsed in a lean-to fashion, allowing the husband to remain in the void, but pinning the wife to the bed," Deputy Chief Paul Polep told Patch.

Jeff Linder, a medical professor and the chief of Northwestern's division of general internal medicine and geriatrics, said in a social media post he had room to move beneath the collapsed panels, but his wife was pinned until rescuers arrived to extricate her. He thanked Evanston firefighters, who he credited with saving Debbie's life.

"I just feel very lucky we’re able to walk away with only a few scratches, aches, and one messed up bedroom," he told Patch in an email. "I wasn't sure what was going on when I woke up. I didn’t know if the ceiling, house, floor, or whole neighborhood was giving way."

Linder said it was "VERY scary to see Debbie just disappear beneath a ceiling coming down on her."

Video from the aftermath...

Debbie was pinned in the middle of the bed. I was able to move in a pocket on the far side of the bed and to the bathroom door before @EvanstonFD cut Debbie free. pic.twitter.com/6G8aKUxga5
— Jeff Linder (@jeffreylinder) June 10, 2020