A birthday celebration turned into a frightening ordeal when a deck collapsed during a three-year-old’s party in West Des Moines, Iowa. The incident occurred as Hilary and Tony Loffredo‘s son was about to blow out the candles on his Spider-Man-themed cake. Around 20 guests were present when the deck suddenly crumbled beneath them. Hilary Loffredo told KCCI, “The kids were crying and we all were screaming, ‘Oh my gosh, what do we do?'”
Emergency services responded quickly, upgrading the situation to a mass casualty incident due to the number of people involved. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, although Tony Loffredo required stitches on his knee. According to The Daily Mail, the deck was built by a contractor hired by the previous homeowners, who reportedly “cut corners and forgot things.”
West Des Fire Marshal Mike Whitsellemphasized the importance of deck inspections, stating, “How old is your deck? Do you have rotted boards that are on there? Have you had your deck inspected?”…