A visit to the open air deck on a mild afternoon went awry for two in Tamaqua on Friday when the wooden structure pulled away from the house and collapsed, hurling them to the ground and trapping one.

Emergency responders were summoned at 1:35 p.m. to a report of a partial structure collapse with entrapment at 33 N. Railroad St.There, they discovered that a first floor rear porch had collapsed in its entirety, falling some eight feet to the ground below.One of the injured, John Filer, was already getting to his feet when emergency responders arrived, said a neighbor, while a second victim, Chrystal Hosier, reportedly Filer's sister, appeared trapped."She was laying on the ground with her back against the wall," said one of the first on the scene, Lamar Reed, who happened to be visiting next door at 31 N. Railroad St. at the time of the collapse.Reed said the collapse seemed to happen suddenly and unexpectedly, and generated a crashing sound heard next door."We were inside just sitting there talking and we heard this loud crash. Then I heard screaming," he told the TIMES NEWS.He said he rushed out to the back porch and saw the deck resting on the ground.Neither victim appeared to be suffering from life threatening injuries. Filer had a visible open wound on his head and complained of pain in his rib and left wrist areas. He was transported by Tamaqua Community Ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital Center in Salisbury Township.Police on the scene said Hosier appeared to have a broken leg. She was transported via ambulance to St. Luke's Hospital - Miners Campus in Coaldale.The double-unit property at 31-33 N. Railroad St., is owned by Harold Hill, New Ringgold, according to courthouse records.Responding in addition to personnel from the Tamaqua Area Community Ambulance Association were paramedics with the Lehighton Ambulance Association, Tamaqua Police and Tamaqua firefighters.