| Date | June 16, 2015 |
|---|---|
| Location | Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 37°52′05.5″N122°16′10.5″W / 37.868194°N 122.269583°W |
| Deaths | 7 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 6 |
On June 16, 2015, shortly after midnight, five Irish J-1 visa students and one Irish-American died and seven others were injured after a balcony on which they were standing collapsed. [1] The group was celebrating a 21st birthday party in Berkeley, California. The balcony was on the 5th floor of an eight year-old [2] apartment building at 2020 Kittredge Street in Berkeley, then called Library Gardens. The district attorney of Alameda County launched a criminal probe into the incident. [3] In January 2022, one of the injured died from a stroke related to the injuries. [2]
In June 2015, Mayor Tom Bates of Berkeley promised a wide-ranging investigation into the cause of the accident. The evidence is overwhelming that dry rot from improper construction caused the collapse, not the weight of the 13 students. [4]
Six people died in the immediate aftermath of the collapse. They were identified as 22-year-old Ashley Donohoe, and Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai "Nick" Schuster, Lorcán Miller and Eimear Walsh, all aged 21. All six were Irish and from Dublin. [5] On 2 January 2022, survivor Aoife Beary died of a stroke, the consequence of injuries sustained in the collapse. [2]
Alameda County prosecutors opened up an investigation in the accident on June 25. They stated that involuntary manslaughter charges could be filed. [6] On that day, District Attorney Nancy O'Malley denied that pressure from the Irish community led to the collapse inquiry. On July 3, 2015, the Alameda County Superior Court rejected a restraining order bid by Segue Builders, a construction company, against the examination of evidence. O'Malley had argued the granting of a restraining order would interfere with her duty to investigate the tragedy. [7]
On September 18, 2018, a law was signed requiring inspection of a 15% sampling of exterior load-bearing structures with wooden supports on apartment buildings every 6 years. [8]
Following the Berkeley balcony collapse, there was a significant push for enhanced safety regulations in multifamily residential buildings. While a local law was signed in Berkeley in 2018, requiring a 15% sampling of exterior load-bearing structures with wooden supports to be inspected every six years, a broader state-level response was also enacted.
California Senate Bill 721 (SB 721) of 2018 was introduced to mandate regular inspections of exterior elevated elements, such as balconies, decks, stairways, and walkways, in multifamily residential buildings with three or more units. This state-wide regulation, which requires inspections every six years, aims to prevent future structural failures by ensuring the safety and integrity of these critical building components.
SB 721 was enacted in response to the Berkeley balcony collapse and other incidents, highlighting the need for stringent safety regulations. The bill requires inspections to be conducted by qualified professionals, such as licensed architects, structural engineers, or certified building inspectors, and applies to a wide range of multifamily buildings across California. [9]
The enactment of SB 721 represents a significant step in enhancing safety standards in California's multifamily housing, building upon the local regulatory measures implemented in Berkeley. Together, these regulations seek to prevent tragedies like the Berkeley balcony collapse by ensuring the structural integrity of exterior elevated elements.
A joint funeral service for Olivia Burke and her cousin Ashley Donohoe took place on June 20, four days after the collapse, in a church in Cotati, California. Funeral services were held in Dublin for the other victims. [10]
In December 2015 a court was told that the collapse happened because contractors cut corners to save costs and that the management company for the building, Greystar Real Estate Partners, ignored a "red flag" when students who rented the apartment complained about mushrooms growing on the balcony. Legal cases by some of the victims were set to be combined and heard together. By the end of 2017 it was reported that most of the lawsuits had been settled. [11] [12]
