At least 10 people were standing on a second-story balcony when it fell early Sunday morning. Vermillion police, EMS and fire units were called to the 20 block of west Main Street next to Carey’s Bar where six of the ten people were transported by EMS to Sanford Hospital-Vermillion.
“Ten people standing on a six-by-four balcony is a lot of weight focused on a concentrated area. The balcony simply fell,” Mabry said.
Mabry was not sure how critical the injuries were besides the descriptions from his officers.
He said that based on the reaction of the police officers that were on the scene, some of the injuries are serious.
“Some of the victims were transferred to Sioux Falls for treatment,” Mabry said. “We have not been advised by any medical personnel as to the extent of the injuries.”
Additional victims were later transported to the Vermillion hospital.
Mabry said there are no apparent criminal violations and at this point.
The police department’s investigation is closed and Vermillion City Code Compliance has taken over.
Vermillion building official Farrel Christensen said code compliance went to the bar and inspected how the balcony was constructed and what might have caused it to collapse.
“We believe the deck was just overloaded. It seemed to have been constructed with compliance to the code, but it just had too much weight on it,” Christensen said.
Mabry said it is important for everyone to periodically examine the structural integrity of balconies, decks and similar structures, especially those that are open to the weather.
“All structures, no matter how well they are built, have weight limits,” Mabry said. “Balconies, decks and similar structures that are basically hanging on the outside of a building typically don’t have a foundation under them to support the weight like that of an interior floor.”
Reach reporter Chris Jessen at Chris.Jessen@usd.edu.
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