Inspectors: Loose bolts caused Utah deck to fall, injuring 4


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LEHI, Utah (AP) — Loose bolts caused a deck to collapse and fall about 10 feet at a Lehi home, sending four people to hospitals with injuries, city building inspectors found Monday.

Inspectors found that bolts connecting one side of the deck to the home somehow became loose and caused the deck to detach during a July 4 family barbeque, Lehi city spokesman Robert Ranc said.

About 15 people were on the deck at the time, officials said. Tables, chairs and a propane grill were also on the structure when it fell.

Inspectors did not know how the bolts became loose but the city is not investigating any further and the family will handle any repairs, Ranc said.

He said the deck was properly permitted when it was built with the house in 2002.

A woman who answered the phone at a listed number for the home declined to comment.

One man was taken to a hospital in Murray with a serious back injury. Three others were taken to a Lehi hospital for treatment.

Lehi Fire Battalion Chief Tim Robinson said none of the injuries were life-threatening but he did not have any update.

Robinson said the grill had been in use at the time but it did not cause any burns, injuries or fire. He said the four people injured appeared to have been hurt when the 25-by-15 foot deck sent them sliding into the house.

Robinson said officials don't think the number of people overloaded the structure. There were no signs anyone was jumping up and down on the structure or doing anything other than standing, he said.

A deck that collapsed over the weekend at a beachfront home in North Carolina, injuring 24 people, failed because of deteriorated nails exposed to sand, salt and moisture, according to officials. Five of the people injured in the collapse remained in the hospital Sunday, with two in critical condition.

A balcony collapsed last month in Berkeley, California, killing six college students and injuring seven others. City inspectors said water damage rotted the balcony's wooden support beams.

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