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Three injured in deck collapse at PA home
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services -- Unrestricted (August 7, 2008)Aug. 7--Three people viewing a house for sale in York fell from a second-floor deck when it collapsed Wednesday afternoon, according to York City Fire/Rescue Services.
Chief John Senft said injuries to the three people, who were taken to York Hospital, were not life-threatening. Their names were not available at press time.
Steve Hilt, a Realtor with Jack Gaughen, said he was showing the house at 223 W. College Ave. to a woman, her daughter and her son-in-law. The three stepped onto the deck from a second-floor door to the rear of the house, he said.
"I was the last one in line -- I was a step away," Hilt said. "I didn't believe it at first . . . I ran down and grabbed the phone and made sure they were OK. Everyone was conscious."
He then called 911, he said.
The call came in at 5:42 p.m., according to York County 911.
Firefighters were quickly dispatched. Arriving at the red brick house, they said they found the deck's floor had separated from the house's exterior and fallen diagonally to the ground.
Assistant Fire Chief Edwin Hamilton said the collapse was caused by "shoddy workmanship."
"It was not properly secured to the building," he said. "The devices holding the deck to the building were not large enough to support that much weight."
He added the collapse "could have been a lot worse . . . If somebody would've been underneath it, they would have been dead."
Hamilton said Assistant Chief Greg Altland would be checking with
city officials to see if a permit was issued for the deck to the built. A permit is necessary to legally build a deck, he said. If one was issued, fire officials could find out who built the deck, he said.
The house's owner, Lorraine Hickman, was not there when the deck collapsed. She returned about 6 p.m. and gazed at the wreckage, asking Hilt repeatedly, "What happened?"
According to Yahoo! Real Estate, the 1,344-square-foot house has been on the market since June. Part of its description reads, "Home also has a second level deck overlooking a fenced-in backyard."
tczech@ydr.com; 771-2033. To see more of the York Daily Record, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.ydr.com. Copyright (c) 2008, York Daily Record, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
