Obviously, any structural component can reach a point where it no longer offers any resistance to the load above it. It happens all the time, either because of overloading or damage to the load bearing structural component....
WOOHOO!!!
Your're starting to see the light moron! Good for you!
but it can't go into free fall unless/until structural failure is complete (bifurcation), which takes time.
So the time it takes for a structure to fail is dependent on how much of an increased load is applied to said structure AND how quickly said load is increased right?