Inspect and Maintain Exteriors to avoid Deadly Walkway Collapses: MU
Ghazwan Alwan, a resident of the University Village Apartments in Columbia, Missouri, and his wife heard a loud crash. He looked outside to see the balcony walkway falling. It had not yet fallen. He called 911. Firefighters responded to the MU balcony collapse and were working to wake and evacuate residents.
Mr. Alwan said Lieutenant Bruce Britt was outside on the 2nd floor walkway talking to him through his window when he told the firefighter he should get off the walkway because it was unsafe. That was when it collapsed underneath the man. Lieutenant Britt was killed by the balcony walkway collapse at the University Village Apartments.
No university students were injured by the MU balcony collapse. The building where the collapse occurred consisted of 12 units, occupied by about 18 residents at the time. The evacuated residents currently are housed by Missouri University (MU) in hotels.
An MU spokesman said that the building where the fatal MU balcony collapse took place had been inspected sometime in the last two years. The balcony collapse injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC note that it’s best to inspect all exterior structures like balconies, decks, walkways, and stairs at least once per year, preferably twice, due to the high toll that variable weather can take on structures. Moisture seepage, rot, rust, and corrosion wear down all outdoor structures gradually over time.
When engineers inspected the collapsed MU balcony walkway after the fatal accident that tragically killed a firefighter, removal of the soffits revealed extensive rust and corrosion in the support structures. So piles of lumber were trucked in to provide additional support for the remaining walkways. But needless to say, residents of University Village are now on edge regarding their safety and the safety of their neighbors. MU is in the process of having structural engineers inspect all university owned or leased facilities for safety.
The two-story brick University Village apartment complex was built in 1956 and has remained virtually unchanged since that time. It houses married students and graduate students. University Village and University Heights (another older, university-run complex) have been under consideration for rebuild or renovation by MU’s Residential Life unit since at least 2008.
8 things to look out for when officials inspect the exterior elements of these structures include:
- Missing or loose structural connections.
- Loose or unstable stairs and stair rails.
- Loose or unstable guardrails.
- Rot from humidity, moisture, and varying weather extremes.
- Cracked or split wood.
- Crumbling or cracking masonry or concrete.
- Corrosion in the hardware connectors.
- Loosening of ledger boards connecting exterior structures to the main structure.
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