Just before 2 a.m. Saturday, a third-storey deck with seven people on it collapsed onto the deck below, which had five people on it.
“There was a social event going on at the time,” said Nancy Redback of Halifax Regional Police.
Officers say they executed a search warrant at the home Saturday, and interviewed the owner of the home.
Redback said police are working with HRM building inspectors to determine what caused the accident.
Brendan Elliott, HRM spokesman, said via email Sunday a review of the file should take place early this week, and the municipality’s “overall role” will depend on staff findings.
Five people were taken by ambulance to the QEII hospital, while another went on their own a few hours later. Police described the injuries as serious but not life-threatening.
The injured people, four females and two males, are in their early 20s and police say most were on the bottom deck during the collapse.
Early Saturday morning, the house was blocked off with yellow police tape. The collapsed deck was a pile of twisted and broken wood in the backyard, among a keg and beer cups.
One resident of the house, who declined to be interviewed, could be heard on his phone saying how lucky everyone was to avoid even more serious injury.
“I thought it was a firework at first,” said Kyle Smith-Windsor, whose backyard connects to the yard where the incident happened.
“Then I saw the whole street light up when the emergency vehicles got there,” he said. “I heard people saying, ‘Call 911, is everyone OK?’”
All that was left on the third floor were pieces of what appeared to be rotten wood. The distance between the ground and deck was at least 20 feet. – with files from Haley Ryan.
