One injured after staircase collapses at apartment complex

CARLISLE — One person is in stable condition after he was injured after a wooden staircase at an apartment collapsed early Thursday afternoon.

Police Chief Mike Bruck said Billy Kirby, 42, had come out of his upper level apartment at 758 Abe Court and took a step onto the staircase when it collapsed about 12:45 p.m. Thursday.

Bruck said it appeared Kirby fell about 10 to 12 feet onto the concrete below and sustained head injuries.

Kirby was taken by medical helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where he is being treated Thursday night for a cut on the back of his head and above his eye, said Jimmy Rose, Kirby’s brother.

A structural engineer and other building officials were called Thursday afternoon to inspect the other staircases at that building as well as the other buildings at the Colonial Village apartments complex, said Fire Chief Krista Wyatt.

“The wood staircases were put in when it (the building) was remodelled,” Wyatt said.

She said the building officials that were called in will be able to make a determination on how the staircase collapsed.

“We roped off similar steps and those will be double-checked,” she said. “If there are any issues, they’ll be fixed on the spot. If anything, we’ll err on the side of safety.”

Fred Miller, who has lived at the apartment complex since 1993, said the staircase that collapsed had been there for about five years.

“I go up and down those stairs every day,” Miller said.

He said the staircase was shaky when it was first installed and that workers had to return to make repairs a while back but there have been no changes.

Greg Wallace, village zoning inspector, said other that some nuisance complaints, there have been no complaints about any structural issues.

The building was built in 1976 and is owned by Carlisle Warren LLC, according to the Warren County Auditor’s Office website.

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