Berkeley balcony collapsed as it ‘was decorative only and not meant for use’

The balcony which collapsed killing six students was only meant to be a decorative feature in the building design, it has emerged. A former planning official in the Californian university city of Berkeley has said the structures approved in the original consent had not been intended for practical use. The small, fourth-floor balcony was crowded with people attending a 21st birthday party when it collapsed. Five 21-year-olds from Ireland were killed, along with a 22-year-old Irish-American woman from California.

They were definitely not large enough to be what the city would call an 'open-space balcony’, where groups of people could stand outside.

Carrie Olson, former Berkeley Design Review Committee official

Carrie Olson, a former Berkeley Design Review Committee official, said the balconies were for decorative rather than practical purposes, the Irish Independent reported. Rotten beams appear to be the cause of the tragedy, according to Berkeley’s mayor. Tom Bates said investigators believe the wood was not sealed properly at the time of construction and was damaged by moisture as a result. Berkeley building inspectors also found another balcony at the apartment building was “structurally unsafe and presented a collapse hazard” and ordered it to be demolished.

That wood was decayed or had some serious deterioration to the point where they could touch it with their hands and it was coming off in chunks in their hands.

Darrick Hom, President of Structural Engineers Association

World Balcony death