Balcony collapse warning

By Tania Martin
A MT Dandenong man has spoken out about his personal nightmare after his balcony collapsed and three people were injured.
Graham White is now warning other residents to be aware of similar problems.
“It can happen to anyone and I just want to warn people so others don’t go through what we have,” he said.
The nightmare began for Mr White shortly after 2pm on Sunday 9 December when the balcony gave way at his Fenton Street property.
At the time the family was having an annual Christmas party and he said there had been no warning of what was about to happen.
More than 65 people where enjoying the day when disaster struck.
But Mr White said it was only by chance that the majority of family members where inside the house enjoying a barbecue lunch when the balcony collapsed.
But for 18 unlucky people the day was about to turn into a terrifying grip for life.
Mr White said he had just stepped off the balcony when there was a loud creaking noise and the balcony started to fall.
One side of the balcony was ripped away from one of the supporting beams and fell onto the water tank underneath and three people fell five-metres to the ground below.
Others held on to the rails of the balcony for dear life.
Three people were injured and a man in his 50s remains in The Alfred hospital with a broken shoulder and ankle, while a woman in her 30s sustained a fractured arm and man in his 20s arm injuries.
At the time of the collapse the two barbecues that where being used to cook lunch also crashed to the ground and a gas bottle caught on fire.
The Mt Dandenong-Kalorama CFA was called to scene to put the fire out and administer first aid until an ambulance arrived.
Mr White has now hit back at claims in a recent media report that the balcony had been full of party revellers and that the deck had been riddled with termites.
“That was totally untrue. We were just having our family Christmas party,” he said.
Since this diaster rocked the White family, the Shire of Yarra Ranges has rated the balcony as being able to hold a capacity of up to five tonnes.
Mr White said it had also been discovered that the treated pine beams of the balcony had rotted internally.
“We had no warning. At least if it had been rotting from the outside we may have seen it happening,” he said.
Mr White also warns people to make sure their insurance covers balconies.
He is currently fighting ‘tooth and nail’ with his insurance company to cover the damages. Mr White has since been told that treated pine can be faulty in some instances and rot from the inside like his did.
“I can’t believe this has happened to us,” he said.