BERKELEY, Calif. — A balcony that snapped off an apartment building and led to the deaths of six college students was supported by wooden beams that had been badly rotted by exposure to moisture, building inspectors in Berkeley said Tuesday.
However, in a summary of the city’s investigation, officials stopped short of blaming the rotten beams for the accident last week. Planning director Eric Angstadt said Berkeley inspectors were not responsible for determining why the concrete and wood structure collapsed and that no further analysis was planned by the city to pinpoint the cause.
“We are not making any sort of formal causal determination,” Angstadt said.
Instead, the manager of Berkeley’s Building and Safety Division recommended mandatory inspections of existing multistory residential buildings and code changes for new construction to prevent moisture damage to balconies, decks and stairs.
