An abandoned house at the end of Semple Avenue in Avalon slid off its foundation Tuesday evening, as heavy rains magnified an already precarious situation at the condemned building. Heavy woods helped keep the building from moving any further. Photos by Connie Rankin for The Citizen

Efforts to demolish an abandoned house in Avalon were finally successful this week, but not in a way officials had hoped.

The house at the end of Semple Avenue took a major slide off its foundation Tuesday evening, making emergency demolition of the building a necessity.

Borough manager Harry Dilmore said that that the borough had condemned the house about 18 months ago after the owner’s attempts to repair the crumbling foundation proved unsuccessful and the bank foreclosed on the property.

Since then, Dilmore said, the borough has been asking the bank to demolish the house before the situation got any worse.

Heavy rains in recent days proved to be the last straw, and the house began sliding back into the woods about 7 p.m. Tuesday. Avalon and Bellevue firefighters were called to the scene, but could do nothing to stop the slide. Utility companies went to work that night to make sure that gas and other lines were disconnected and would not be damaged by the continued movement of the house.

The borough brought ina contractor Wednesday to demolish the house. It was expected to be loaded into dumpsters on Thursday.

Although there are no residences or buildings below the property, and a heavy wooded area slowed the home’s movement, the house sits very close to another residence. Borough officials watched to make sure the abandoned house did not slide into the neighboring property before it could be torn down.