Porch Collapse Injures 4 in Lakeview

10 people on porch when it fell; 1 critically injured

Four people were injured when a second-floor porch collapsed early Sunday in the Lakeview neighborhood.

Emergency personnel responded at 1:23 a.m. to a second-floor porch that collapsed at 3736 N. Ashland Ave., police said.

The porch -- part of an extensive porch and deck system on the back of the 2 ½-story building -- collapsed onto the first-floor porch below it after pulling away from the building, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said.

About 10 people were on the porch, which Langford described as a "party deck," and rode the porch down as it collapsed, he said.

Four adults were taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Langford said. Three people were taken in fair-to-serious condition and one person in serious-to-critical condition, but none of their injuries appear to be life-threatening.

Four additional adults were treated at the scene, Langford said.

The porch looks to have separated from the building at the point where the two are connected by a ledger board, Langford said. A definitive cause for the collapse was not immediately known early Sunday, but a problem with the porch’s construction may have factored into the collapse, he said.

Crews from the city’s Department of Buildings will inspect the porch and a roof deck on the same building that may also be compromised, he said.

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