Man on Remaining Calm and Continuing to Watch TV After Ceiling Collapses on Him: 'Panicking Makes It Worse'

A man watching TV in his living room found himself nearly buried under the ceiling that once stood above him after it caved in unexpectedly. But rather than panic, video footage of the ordeal showed the man simply clear the debris from his eyes so he could continue watching television.

“I’m alright,” Robert Gongora told Inside Edition. “No, I didn’t get hurt. Nothing really gets me too excited.”

A leaky air conditioning system was to blame for the collapse, he said, noting, “We didn’t realize, little by little, it was soaking into sheetrock, and it just gave way.”

Gongora’s bulldog, Chuck, sensed trouble was coming and left the space, but his owner was none the wiser.

After the collapse, Gongora eventually stood up and shook off the sheetrock.

Gongora’s girlfriend, Kimberly Crane, was folding laundry in another part of the house.

She said his reaction was classic and in line with his steady personality.

“Yes, you never really know if he’s excited,” she said.

Gongora said he learned a valuable lesson when he almost drowned as a child.

“I knew by panicking, it makes it worse,” he said.

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