Reaction to an NBC10 exclusive report, releasing the final words of the inspector who killed himself following a deadly building collapse. NBC10's Nefertiti Jaquez has the details. (Published Saturday, June 15, 2013) 
 
 In a final message before taking his life, the lead building inspector responsible for a Center City building that collapsed last week said he was to blame for the deadly disaster. 
 
 "It was my fault. I should have looked at those guys working, and I didn't," Ronald Wagenhoffer said in a video recorded on his cell phone. 
 
 NBC10 Philadelphia has learned the 52-year-old veteran Philadelphia Licenses & Inspections staffer recorded the one-minute long message for his family. 
 
 Wagenhoffer was found dead around 9:30 Wednesday night of an apparent suicide, city officials confirmed at a press conference Thursday. 
 
 Reaction to Final Words of Inspector Before Suicide 
 
 We have reaction to an NBC10 exclusive report, detailing the final words of an L & I inspector who killed himself following last week's deadly building collapse. Only NBC10 has confirmed that the inspector admitted he never set foot on the construction site before signing off on the project. NBC10's Harry Hairston reports. (Published Friday, June 14, 2013) 
 
 Law enforcement sources say Wagenhoffer shot himself once in the chest inside his pickup truck along a wooded section of the 100 block of Shawmont Avenue in the Roxborough neighborhood of Philadelphia. That's less than a mile from his home. 
 
 In the video, Wagenhoffer says he couldn't sleep and blamed himself for the building collapse at 2136 Market Streets that killed six and injured 13 when the building collapsed onto a store on June 5. 
 
 He admitted he never truly inspected an adjacent work site after a citizen complained about safety concerns, although he reported there were no violations found. 
 
 "When I saw it was too late. I should have parked my truck and went over there but I didn't. I'm sorry," Wagenhoffer said in the message. 
 
 City officials said Wagenhoffer was sent to the demolition site of 2134 Market Street on May 14 -- that's adjacent to the building that collapsed at 2136 Market Street. 
 
 The inspection was set to take place after Center City resident Stephen Field complained to the city's 311 call center about a lack of safety equipment on workers and adequate protection of the sidewalk. The city has been saying for a week that no issues were found. 
 
 Building Inspector Admits Fault 
 
 The man responsible for inspecting the building that collapsed last week in Center City, admits he was at fault in a cellphone video he left for his family. Ronald Wagenhoffer apparently committed suicide last night. NBC10's Nefertiti Jaquez uncovers new information in the case. (Published Thursday, June 13, 2013) 
 
 Last Wednesday, the four-story outer wall of 2136 Market Street crumbled onto the Salvation Army Thrift Store next door. Six people were killed in the collapse -- three employees and three patrons. The wall also buried 13 others who were in different areas throughout the store, including the basement. They were eventually rescued by citizens and first responders. 
 
 Excavator operator Kane R. Robert, also known as Sean Benschop, stands charged in the collapse. Investigators with the District Attorney's homicide unit say he tested positive for the pain killer Percocet and marijuana on the day of the collapse. They allege he was in no condition to operate heavy machinery. A grand jury has been convened to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collapse. 
 
 L&I records also show Wagenhoffer completed and passed an initial inspection at 2136 Market Street on Feb. 25. 
 
 City officials said that fellow employees and L&I Commissioner Carlton Williams reached out to Wagenhoffer in the days after the collapse. 
 
 "This man did nothing wrong," Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison said at a press conference Thursday. "The department did what it was supposed to do under the code that existed at the time." 
 
 In a tweet posted Friday afternoon, Mayor Nutter's Press Secretary Mark McDonald refuted NBC10's reporting of the video message. 
 
 "NBC10 falsely stated that L&I inspector said of collapse -- "It was my fault." That is a total lie," he wrote. 
 
 NBC10 Vice President of News Anzio Williams said, "We have seen the video. We are standing behind our journalism." In a phone conversation with Williams, McDonald maintained his belief that the report was inaccurate. 
 
 A source close to the investigation who did not want to be named because they aren't authorized to speak publicly about the case, said Wagenhoffer had been grieving for days. They said Wagenhoffer did not take any time off after the collapse because he thought sticking to his work routine might help him deal with the tragedy. 
 
 On Thursday, Nutter, who is in Chicago, was asked if Wagenhoffer should have been placed on leave after the building collapse. 
 
 "Each of us deals with our grief and sorrow and any sense of responsibility in a different way. I'm not going to second guess his judgment to keep working," Nutter responded. He said Wagenhoffer had been in constant contact with his supervisor and was offered time off, but declined. 
 
 Mayor Nutter Responds to Inspector's Suicide 
 
 The lead inspector of a Center City building that collapsed last week commits suicide. Ronald Wagenhofferr was the last inspector to examine the building that collapsed, but city officials say he did nothing wrong. NBC10's Daralene Jones caught up with the mayor and asked why the inspector was still working after such a tragedy. (Published Thursday, June 13, 2013) 
 
 "I think what you have here is a 16-year-employee who cared very deeply about his job," said Nutter. "We don't know all the things that may have been going through his mind." 
 
 Commissioner Williams called Wagenhoffer an outstanding employee. 
 
 “He was a dedicated civil servant who did his job," he said. "He started in the Department of Public Property and moved his way up through the ranks as one of our top code officials in the Department of Licenses & Inspections." 
 
 Nutter said the city is also encouraging other employees to get emotional support if they need it. 
 
 "Obviously I don't know why this happened, but we've tried to send a message out certainly to all of our public employees who are deeply affected by this, especially those who worked with Ron," Nutter said. 
 
 Wagenhoffer leaves behind a wife, Michele and a son. 
 
 Mayor Nutter Astounded Over Inspector's Suicide 
 
 Mayor Michael Nutter said Ron Wagenhoffer was a man who cared deeply about his job and had a great love for the city of Philadelphia. Wagenhoffer shot himself to death last night. He was the lead inspector on the building that was under demolition when it collapsed last week onto a Salvation Army thrift store, killing six people and injuring 13 others. (Published Thursday, June 13, 2013) 
 
 Deputy Mayor Gillison added there are five investigations underway regarding the collapse and that the city is "proud" of L&I's work. 
 
 Griffin Campbell was the contractor overseeing the demolition. In a statement released by his attorney Kenneth Edelin, he said "heartfelt condolences go to the family of the inspector." 
 
 "We also continue to pray for the families of those that were lost, and for the health and speedy recovery of those that were injured," the statement continued. ||||| A worker at a Salvation Army store adjacent to a building in the process of being torn down was sorting clothes when she heard rumbling and was suddenly buried, a lawyer for her said Friday as a shopper joined the woman in her lawsuit against the demolition contractor. 
 
 A reporter makes a photograph of a makeshift memorial for Kimberly J. Finnegan near the scene of a building collapse, Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Philadelphia. Wednesday a building under demolition collapsed... (Associated Press) 
 
 AP10ThingsToSee - A dust cloud rises as people run from the scene of a building collapse on the edge of downtown Philadelphia on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. At least six people were killed and 14 inured... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo provided by Jordan McLaughlin, a dust cloud rises as people run from the scene of a building collapse on the edge of downtown Philadelphia on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. Buoyed by the discovery... (Associated Press) 
 
 Firefighters view the aftermath of a building collapse, Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Philadelphia. Wednesday a building under demolition collapsed onto a neighboring thrift store, killing six people and... (Associated Press) 
 
 Mayor Michael Nutter speaks during a news conference in the aftermath of a building collapse, Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Philadelphia. On Wednesday, the building under demolition collapsed onto a neighboring... (Associated Press) 
 
 Firefighters view the scene of a building collapse, Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Philadelphia. On Wednesday, the building under demolition collapsed onto a neighboring thrift store, killing six people and... (Associated Press) 
 
 Workmen work by hand at the scene of a building collapse, Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Philadelphia. Wednesday a building under demolition collapsed onto a neighboring thrift store, killing six people and... (Associated Press) 
 
 Nadine White, a 54-year-old mother of three, had worked at the thrift store for about eight months. She was in the back of the store when she "heard a rumble and a wall collapsed on her," attorney Larry Bendesky said. 
 
 A second plaintiff, Linda Bell, joined the lawsuit. Bell, a 50-year-old mother of three, was shopping when the collapse happened. She fell into the basement and was covered by rubble for more than an hour. 
 
 "She's pretty shook up, in a lot of pain," her attorney Joseph Marrone said. 
 
 Their lawsuit against demolition contractor Griffin Campbell gained speed as the rescue operation from Wednesday's collapse wound down. 
 
 Robert Mongeluzzi, another of White's attorneys, said Campbell violated several federal safety regulations, while building owner Richard Basciano should have picked a more qualified and competent contractor to do the work. 
 
 "This is the most egregious construction accident I think I've ever been involved in," said Mongeluzzi, who has represented hundreds of plaintiffs in construction accidents and is considered a top lawyer in the field. 
 
 The lawyers received permission Friday from a judge to bring in experts to videotape and photograph the continuing demolition work by the city from a safe distance. Common Pleas Court Judge Ellen Ceisler ruled that once the site is deemed safe, experts for all parties can inspect the remaining debris. 
 
 "From what we can understand, given (Campbell's) checkered past, and what appears to be a total lack of experience and know-how, we believe that was a grossly negligent selection," Mongeluzzi said Thursday. 
 
 A man who answered the phone Friday at Campbell's home said he was not home, and Campbell's cellphone voicemail box was full. Peter Greiner, attorney for Basciano, was in a meeting Friday and did not immediately return a call. 
 
 Campbell has previously been arrested on charges involving drugs, assault and insurance fraud and has had two bankruptcy filings. His daughter, Dominique Lee, who answered the door at his home, said Thursday that he wasn't there but was "mourning the loss of those people just like everyone else." 
 
 The four-story building toppled onto the thrift store on Philadelphia's busy Market Street, six people, including a woman working her first day at the store. Thirteen people were injured. 
 
 The collapse has brought swift and mounting fallout in a city where demolition contractors are lightly regulated. Officials have begun inspecting hundreds of demolition sites citywide, and a city councilman charged that dangerous, under-the-radar tear-downs are taking place throughout Philadelphia. 
 
 The Department of Licenses and Inspections said it had 300 open demolition permits throughout the city; inspectors had visited about 30 of the sites by Thursday afternoon and planned to get to the rest by next week. 
 
 The spot inspections included all four construction and demolition sites connected to Campbell. The city found violations at two of the Campbell sites and ordered a halt to the work. 
 
 Councilman James Kenney, among others, called for a review of the demolition application and inspection process and demanded a stricter process for demolition companies. 
 
 "This is happening all over the city," he said. "I need to know who the workers are who are there, what they know, what they don't know, how they've been trained." 
 
 The city does check the condition of buildings to be torn down before demolition can begin _ and inspects them again after the tear-down is finished _ but does not require an inspection during demolition. A pre-demolition inspection at the site on May 14 turned up no issues, said Carlton Williams, head of the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections. 
 
 Pennsylvania does not license demolition contractors, nor does the city. Williams said the city code does not require demolition contractors to show any proficiency in tearing down buildings. 
 
 "Buildings get demolished all the time in the city of Philadelphia with active buildings right next to them. ... They're done safely in this city all the time," Mayor Michael Nutter said Thursday. "Something obviously went wrong here yesterday and possibly in the days leading up to it. That's what the investigation is for." 
 
 Nutter said he was unaware of any complaints about the demolition work done by Campbell in the days before the tragedy. But the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it had gotten a complaint May 15 that workers at the site were at risk of falling. The complaint was still open at the time of the disaster, U.S. Labor Department spokeswoman Leni Uddyback-Fortson said. 
 
 OSHA regulates the demolition industry and enforces standards meant to ensure worker safety. Among other things, its regulations forbid any wall section exceeding one story to stand alone without bracing, unless the wall was designed that way. Witnesses have said they saw a 30-foot section of unbraced wall before the collapse. 
 
 A video of the demolition taken the Sunday before the collapse showed bricks raining down on the sidewalk as a worker used a backhoe and claw to remove a second-story front wall. 
 
 The sidewalk and the staircase leading up from a subway stop appeared open to pedestrians despite the falling bricks. Cars and trucks could also be seen going past, just a few feet away. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania. Associated Press writers JoAnn Loviglio, Kevin Begos and Keith Collins contributed to this story, along with AP's News and Information Research Center.
– The man who inspected a Philadelphia building three weeks before it collapsed last week, killing six and injuring 13, has died in an apparent suicide. The 52-year-old, whose name has not been released, inspected the building several times and ruled it safe after a complaint was lodged last month, reports NBC. He apparently shot himself in the chest while parked in his pickup truck in an isolated area about a mile from his home, where his wife found him. His suicide note had been a text to her. Meanwhile, a crane operator awaits trial in the collapse, while victims are suing the demolition contractor.