CA - Balcony collapse kills 5, injures 8 in Berkeley

[Blondie in Spokane]

I totally agree! I almost choked on my drink when I read that bs line about the "balcony only intended for decorative purposes". What a crock.

Yes, totally.....lawsuits are most definitely in order.

 

[Ironside]

Thats all very interesting about the "for decorative purposes only" thing. I wonder if that's true? I agree with you Cappucino, if you are going to build a balcony that is capable of holding that many people and APPEARS to be sturdy, you have to make it strong enough to support that many people, plus some, OR clearly post a weight limit (even that may not be sufficient).

A car could hold 10-15 people if everyone squeezed in tight. Would the car manufacturers then be liable if an accident happened when 15 people were squeezed in? The balcony really does look as though it is only designed for a few people and perhaps a plant or two. It reminds me of a balcony on a dolls house.

I would be very curious to know if the apartment lease came with any rules as to how many people should be on the balcony.

I've done far riskier things in my youth than overcrowd a balcony - I was once at a crazy party in an old building where the floors were literally sagging from the sheer amount of people there - there was hundreds of people all dancing around. The police were so concerned about the overcrowding they were shining big spotlights into the windows to encourage people to leave- nobody cared as we were having so much fun at the time. I was 20 so around the same age as all these poor students that died.

 

[KaaBoom]

This is what a decorative balcony looks like. Note that there are no doors behind it, only a window. But if fourteen people did climb out the window onto it, it would probably not collapse. Because it's been there for a 125 years. It's probably not going to fall down in the next 125 years. Plus it has a steal frame welded onto the building, and a lot of support structure underneath it. These people in Berkeley are dead because of shoddy construction.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Hundreds gather in California park to mourn six UC Berkeley students who fell to their deaths as investigators reveal fifth-floor balcony 'had water damage' and was only 'decorative' before it collapsed

Hundreds of people gathered in a park to mourn on Wednesday

At a 21st birthday party on Tuesday, a fifth-floor balcony broke loose from the apartment, tossing 13 people about 50 feet onto the pavement

An investigation has been launched into whether the balcony was built to code, was overloaded and whether rain weakened the supports

Five Irish students and one Irish-American student were killed in collapse

Seven others were taken to hospital, some of them in serious conditions

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...amage-decorative-collapsed.html#ixzz3dP8OCPHF

 

[Cappuccino]

A car could hold 10-15 people if everyone squeezed in tight. Would the car manufacturers then be liable if an accident happened when 15 people were squeezed in? The balcony really does look as though it is only designed for a few people and perhaps a plant or two. It reminds me of a balcony on a dolls house.

I would be very curious to know if the apartment lease came with any rules as to how many people should be on the balcony.

I've done far riskier things in my youth than overcrowd a balcony - I was once at a crazy party in an old building where the floors were literally sagging from the sheer amount of people there - there was hundreds of people all dancing around. The police were so concerned about the overcrowding they were shining big spotlights into the windows to encourage people to leave- nobody cared as we were having so much fun at the time. I was 20 so around the same age as all these poor students that died.

No the car manufacturer wouldn't be liable because its illegal to squeeze 10 to 15 people into a car. However, under California's building regulations, a balcony that size should have been able to support the weight of 13 people. It collapsed because the wood used wasn't sealed properly, leading to water damage which rotted the wood.

Personally I think the builder responsible should be charged with manslaughter as well as sued.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Cousins who died in Berkeley balcony collapse to be mourned

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap...y-balcony-collapse-mourned.html#ixzz3dangk0sj

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Builders who erected Berkeley balcony that collapsed and killed six students have already paid out $6.5m in compensation for construction failures

California-based Segue Construction paid nearly $6.5million between 2013 and 2014 to settle two lawsuits that claimed water intrusion

Litigation involved a 109-unit complex in Millbrae and a 245-building in San Diego

Segue is the company that built Library Gardens complex in Berkeley where six Irish nationals and American student were killed Tuesday

Company spokesman said Segue has built more than 6,000 units and has never encountered such problems

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...balcony-sued-flaws-project.html#ixzz3dapnZZGG

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

EXCLUSIVE PICTURE: A happy birthday banner, a lone balloon and boarded up French doors – the first glimpse inside Berkeley apartment where six students died in balcony collapse

Students had been celebrating a friend's 21st birthday on Tuesday when the balcony broke loose and sent 13 plummeting 40ft to the ground

The double French doors leading out to the fourth floor balcony can be seen in this shot, now boarded up for safety.

Aoife Beary and Hannah Waters are in critical condition

Ms Beary was celebrating her birthday when tragedy struck in Berkeley

Their families have flown to the US and are at their hospital bedsides
Five Irish students and an American died


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...errifying-balcony-collapse.html#ixzz3daqo9Cke

 

[panthera]

Berkeley, Calif., balcony that collapsed was supposed to be decorative: report

"The Berkeley, Calif., apartment balcony that collapsed Tuesday morning, killing five Irish students and one American, was supposed to be decorative, according to a report."

"This was meant just to be a place where someone could stand out for bit, get a breath of fresh air. Not for something like 13 people," Carrie Olson, a former member of the city design committee that approved the building in 2001, told the San Francisco Chronicle."

"But the students may not have known that fact when they gathered for a 21st birthday party -- landlords are not required to post weight limits, structural engineer Joshua Kardon told the newspaper."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...y-balcony-decorative-report-article-1.2260785

Just as I thought initially, that the balcony was not properly constructed to hold as many people that were on it. With that said, however, it should be mandatory that the weight limit be posted and/or part of the rental agreement. This is totally unacceptable not to inform tenants that this is a "decorative" balcony only.

Thoughts and prayers for the families and the two surviving victims.


MOO

 

[KaaBoom]

Builders who erected Berkeley balcony that collapsed and killed six students have already paid out $6.5m in compensation for construction failures

California-based Segue Construction paid nearly $6.5million between 2013 and 2014 to settle two lawsuits that claimed water intrusion

Litigation involved a 109-unit complex in Millbrae and a 245-building in San Diego

Segue is the company that built Library Gardens complex in Berkeley where six Irish nationals and American student were killed Tuesday

Company spokesman said Segue has built more than 6,000 units and has never encountered such problems

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...balcony-sued-flaws-project.html#ixzz3dapnZZGG

This picture says it all. The wood on the bottom one looks brand new. The top one is total dry rot.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Wooden beams in balcony that collapsed killing six Berkeley students WERE rotten, inspectors confirm

The balcony broke away from apartment building in Berkeley in California

Six college students were killed and seven others hospitalized in the fall

Inspectors have confirmed beams supporting balcony were badly rotted

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ed-deadly-balcony-collapse.html#ixzz3dyi0b7MO

 

[zwiebel]

Having managed to move into a house that had it, I was convinced those beams had dry rot. And I just can't understand why a 'decorative' balcony would be built with doors and enough space to allow people to step out onto it. Or how the water ingressed so quickly and obviously had no means to dry out.

In fact, I'm a little puzzled why wood supports were used at all on such a new building. Unless cost was a factor...

 

[zwiebel]

I just walked outside and checked my balcony that's about that size. It has six horizontal beams double the width of the Berkeley ones supporting it, plus two that are more than double the width, plus three huge vertical posts coming up from the floor for additional support.

 

[zwiebel]

Sorry, just one more thing; to make matters worse it looks like the base of the balconys also had some sort of covering - meaning the people living underneath were not even able to look up, spot the rot and warn the occupants?

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Student in balcony collapse reveals she is paralyzed but insists she will honor six friends who died by 'living the happiest life possible' - as criminal charges are pursued

Clodagh Cogley wrote on Facebook on Wednesday that she may never walk again after the accident last week

The 21-year-old Irish student was one of 13 people who fell 40 feet to the ground when a Berkeley, California apartment balcony collapsed last week

Five Irish students and an American friend were killed when the rotted wooden beams of the balcony snapped

On Thursday, prosecutors said criminal investigation into the collapse could lead to involuntary manslaughter charges

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...alifornia-balcony-collapse.html#ixzz3e9ZTCsXU

 

[KaaBoom]

Having managed to move into a house that had it, I was convinced those beams had dry rot. And I just can't understand why a 'decorative' balcony would be built with doors and enough space to allow people to step out onto it. Or how the water ingressed so quickly and obviously had no means to dry out.

In fact, I'm a little puzzled why wood supports were used at all on such a new building. Unless cost was a factor...

Of course cost was a factor. Cost is a factor with everything in America. Developers maximize their profits by charging the most money possible for the cheapest quality construction possible.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

No one will face charges over the balcony collapse in California that killed five Irish students in America on a working visa

Three young men and three young women, aged 22 and 21 died in June

District Attorney said not enough evidence for manslaughter case

Initial examinations showed rot had set into the balcony's wooden beams

DA's office said it will support action against the construction firms

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs said department would consider the findings carefully

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...five-Irish-students-America-working-visa.html