Balcony Collapse Not The First In Malibu

MALIBU, CA —As Malibu grapples with a shocking balcony collapse that injured nine and placed two victims in critical condition, it is important to note that this has happened before, and the details are strikingly similar.

In the early hours of Sunday, Nov. 15, 1992, a party was taking place at a rented beachside condo that the LA Times reported was located at 20446 Pacific Coast Highway, just 466 feet away and a two-minute walk from 20526 Pacific Coast Highway, where Saturday’s incident occurred during a birthday party.

In '92, about 30-35 people were crowded onto the wooden balcony of the aging home, and a rusty metal beam buckled after being weakened by ocean corrosion. The second-floor balcony collapsed, sending the party-goers at least 20 feet down onto the rocky shoreline. 29 people were hurt, and two were later killed. In the early hours of the morning, 35 paramedics fought off crashing waves as they treated concussions, broken bones, and many other injuries, The Times reported.

“It was like a war zone,” next door neighbor Richard Gerardo told The Times. “People were running around yelling and screaming. There were people over the rocks, and there was glass and concrete everywhere. So many were injured that those with broken bones had to wait.”

The home was inspected the Friday before the accident, since the renter was preparing to buy the home, a plan he abandoned after the collapse. In the following days, Malibu city engineers inspected the accident scene and nearby decks.

According to another report in The Times, LA County officials warned all the way back in the mid-1970s that the townhouse’s steel beams were dangerously corroded, and LA County Division of Building and Safety issued a notice advising that the beams needed to be maintained. Landowner Ronald S. Dunas told The Times that he told the leaseholders to to fix the corrosion, but they didn’t listen.

Still, Malibu inspectors at the time said they found no obvious code violations, and the balcony was approved by county inspectors to handle a full load of people. Contractors had built a support structure of wood beams to support the deck’s rusted steel beams.

Many of the homes along PCH in the Big Rock area were built in the 50s and 60s. 20526 PCH was built in 1960, and 20446 PCH was built in 1963, according to property records. 28 years ago, a neighbor jumped on his wooden balcony to show its flimsiness, remarking to The Times that: “You get 25 people jumping up and down on this and it’s all over.”

On Saturday, around 30 people crowded onto a nearby beachside balcony. The owner of the home told KCAL 9 that the occupancy was meant to remain under six people. A neighbor called the homeowner to report the large crowd, and the homeowner said that she was on the phone ordering tenants to leave when the balcony collapsed 15 feet into the ocean, injuring nine and sending four to the hospital.

LA County Fire Department officials have since red-tagged the home and deemed it uninhabitable. It is unknown if the homeowner’s short term rental permit is being revoked for code violations, per the stop-gap short-term rental ordinance enacted in January.

The City of Malibu released a statement Monday afternoon saying that the home had a valid short-term rental permit in line with the ordinance. Malibu Code Enforcement is investigating violations of occupancy limits, and LA County Building and Safety are investigating the incident as well, the city said.

Horrifying video. I gasped when I first saw it. Amazing no one was killed. I’ll have a live report coming up on KCAL 9 & @CBSLA. #deckcollapse #malibu https://t.co/JUoBg25FeS
— Laurie Perez (@LauriePerez) May 9, 2021

Firefighters are on the scene of a balcony collapse at 20526
Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu where five patients have suffered traumatic injuries, the Los Angeles County Fire Department says.https://t.co/B2wHD2wjIn pic.twitter.com/qTv6c6yVJz
— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) May 9, 2021

See also:

9 Injured After Malibu Balcony Collapses Onto The Beach | Malibu, CA Patch