Terrifying balcony collapse at Los Angeles home rattles residents

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – A balcony collapse in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles Saturday night rattled residents and sent one person to the hospital.  

The incident, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, occurred at around 11:20 p.m. in the 800 block of Robinson Street, near Marathon Street.  

“We heard a boom in the night, and we got out of bed. We had just gone to bed,” neighbor John McCauley told KTLA’s Gene Kang. “We came out on the balcony, and we could hear some moaning on the other side. Luckily, we’re not directly underneath the balcony that collapsed.”  

McCauley explained that his neighbors, four people and a dog, had been out on the balcony, which was three stories up, enjoying the evening when it suddenly gave way, crashing down onto the balcony directly beneath them.  

“I called 911 and we just kind of jumped into action,” he said. “We knew something was horribly going on and it was very surreal.”  

Thinking quickly, McCauley’s wife grabbed sheets and used them to help pull the people, who were trapped in the corner with furniture on top of them, off the compromised structure.  

In footage of the incident obtained by KTLA, city fire trucks lined the cramped neighborhood streets while responding to the collapse.  

Of the people on the balcony, one was taken to the hospital with what appeared to be injuries to her wrist while the other three declined medical treatment. The dog was also uninjured.  

In a video of the collapsed balcony, it appeared as if the structure’s right side gave way. The extent of the damage to the balcony below it is not known.  

“They were a little shaken up, but everybody is just so grateful that everyone is healthy and safe,” McCauley said.  

Inspectors with the L.A. Department of Building and Safety reportedly told the residents that recent heavy rains compromised the structure and led to its collapse.  

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