Oakland Deck Collapse Leads to Citation, Possible Fine

The owner of an East Oakland home where a deck collapsed over the weekend is being cited for not having a permit to build the deck in the first place.

Nine people who were on the wooden deck when it pulled away from the home on the 7800 block of Outlook Avenue shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday were injured, officials said. Three of them were hospitalized. The most severe injuries were broken bones, according to the Oakland Fire Department.

The deck fell at least 10 feet, an Oakland building official said.

"It appears that under the weight of the deck itself and the occupants on top of the deck, it came down and actually flipped itself over, upside down," said Deborah Sandercock, deputy director for the city's Department of Planning and Building.

"The nails that were into the wall of the house were pulled straight out," Sandercock said. She believes that the structure may have pulled away from the home because its connection with the house was too weak.

Building inspectors arrived on the scene Saturday night after the collapse but could not get a detailed look at the structure. They returned on Monday for several sets of inspections, placed caution tape in the area, and yellow-tagged a door that connected the house to the deck

After conducting initial reviews, the inspectors determined that the owner of the home never obtained a permit to build the addition. They plan to issue a notice of violation in the case, which carries a $2,045 fine.

"People would not be injured and this would not have happened had they gotten the proper permits and built the deck properly," Sandercock said.

It's apparent from pictures of the deck after the collapse that it was not built recently. The owner of the home, whom the San Francisco Chronicle identified as Warren Johnson, told the paper on Sunday he bought the house in the 1980s and believed it was built in the '50s.

"I'm thinking the deck was just old, and with that weight on it, it just didn't hold," Johnson told the Chronicle.

Sandercock was unaware of how frequently the Planning and Building Department issues such citations. The agency's code enforcement is "strictly complaint-driven," said Sandercock.

The department employs close to two dozen building inspectors and eight code enforcement officials. Sandercock said the agency does not have enough staff to look for people building without permits.

"We're not policemen," she said. "We try to motivate people to do the right thing and get permits, but if they don't we have to respond to any complaints that come up."