CINCINNATI — 10 people were injured after the main support beam failed and a balcony collapsed in a Ohio nerighborhood last week.
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A code enforcement case has been opened and inspections are underway after a balcony collapsed at a rental property in Cincinnati Friday night, our news partners WCPO-9 TV reported.
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The collapse happened at an apartment complex on Stetson Street in Cincinnati, according to a previous News Center 7 report.
An 8-foot by 12-foot wooden deck collapsed 20 feet to the ground below due to the weight of too many people during what witnesses described as a party, WCPO-9 TV reported.
First responders immediately notified the Department of Buildings and Inspections, which launched a comprehensive investigation.
The investigation involved the property owner, Hezekiel Eskender, the homeowners’ association for the condo building, the original engineering firm and a forensic structural engineer, WCPO-9 TV reported.
An inspector with the Department of Buildings and Inspections found that one of the deck’s main support beams had failed.
Sierra Goodfellow, a University of Cincinnati Student who lives behind the unit, witnessed the party before the collapse.
“I just keep thinking about the beer pong table,” Goodfellow said. “They were right there (on the ground below the deck). Then to see the grill on the ground and just remembering people manning the grill.”
Immeidate orders were issued by city officials requiring Eskender and the homeowners’ association to hire a structural engineer to examine all balconies in the complex, WCPO-9 TV reported.
They are also required to secure and barricade all balcony doors to prevent use until the structural assessment is complete, as well as bring the sprinkler system back to functionality and compliance after it was damaged during the collapse.
The Department of Buildings & Inspections will reinspect the property to ensure compliance with the orders, WCPO-9 TV reported.
Although the Cincinnati Fire Department stated that he other apartments in the complex posed no risk, Goodfellow questioned the structural integrity of the remaining balconies.
“Part of my study, making things that are structural, they have to be able to hold people. And when I see something like that, that’s not attached from the top or the bottom, you have to have very significant support beams, especially in the middle, and it doesn’t have any of that,” Goodfellow said.
WCPO-9 TV attempted to reach Eskender by phone and text and did not recieve a response. The fire department declined to provide additional information.
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