Four people are recovering in a Halifax hospital after a wooden deck collapsed at a home in Dartmouth on the weekend, sending 15 people to the emergency room.
Inspectors spent Monday taking pictures and measurements of what’s left of the backyard deck on Green Village Lane.
One local contractor says shoddy construction is to blame for the incident.
“No wonder it fell off,” says Gaetan Beaulieu. “I knew there were no bolts right away. First of all, it wouldn’t have fallen off, and the siding wouldn’t have come with it.”
Emergency crews were called to the home on Green Village Lane around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
Police said several people were on the deck when it collapsed nearly four metres to the ground.
About 15 people were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from cuts to fractures. Four of the people were seriously injured, although their injuries are not life-threatening.
Steve Craig’s 35-year-old daughter, Marlo, was badly injured in the collapse. He says her femur was broken in four places and doctors haven’t ruled out internal injuries.
“They go to a birthday party and through no fault of their own, all of a sudden their lives are changed,” says Craig. “I’m angry because I don’t know where to focus. I don’t know what exactly is going to happen.”
This isn’t the first time a deck has collapsed on the street. In 2009, Angela Kahn’s deck collapsed, just four years after moving into her new home.
“My mom stepped out on the back deck and it just pulled away from the house and fell down,” says Kahn. “So everything that was on the deck fell forward, including the people.”
Kahn’s deck was built just a few feet off the ground so people only suffered a few bumps and bruises.
Concerned about her neighbours across the street, who have decks much higher than hers, she called the city to express her concerns.
“They advised me they had no authority to re-inspect the decks,” she says.
City officials say they inspect new construction only.
“They passed inspection about 10 years ago and we’re comfortable with the inspections we passed at that time,” says city spokesperson Janet Bryson.
Kahn says she wasn’t surprised to hear about her neighbour’s deck, but she was angry.
“I got really frustrated because I thought back to what happened and how I advised them and nothing was done.”
Craig says he still has many unanswered questions, both as a father and as a city councillor.
“Was it preventable? If it was preventable, why did it happen? And what will keep it from happening again?”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jayson Baxter
