I’m guessing years of water damage weakened the building?
My bet is the local gas company has deeper pockets than the building owner and/or local water board.
That’s a very plausible possibility. But how it would go unnoticed to create that kind of compromise seems strange. But definitely not impossible.
That’s the impression I got too — years of water damage weakening the structure. According to the article tenants have complained about water damage, with one business owner saying her bathroom had collapsed.