THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 3, 1996 TAG: 9607030472
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: 32 lines
Officials of this Outer Banks beach town are inspecting stairs at oceanfront hotels and motels this week after a staircase at the Vivianna Motel collapsed last Friday, leaving eight vacationers with minor injuries.
Nags Head's Chief Building Inspector John Brabrand said visual inspections began Monday at older oceanfront motels.
``We're doing visual inspections at some of the older beachfront places, looking for any structural weaknesses in any of the stairwells to keep this from happening again,'' Brabrand said.
Brabrand has completed an investigation into the cause of the collapse at the Vivianna: The weight of the vacationers combined with the stairs' age, and wear and tear on the stairs, caused the steps to come down, he said.
The stairs already have been replaced and have passed inspection.
``I think it was a combination of things,'' Brabrand said. ``I think it was the combined load of the people on the stairs, along with the effect of the elements over time on the stairs. All those things made the conditions right for this. The wood just split.''
Brabrand, however, said there was no evidence of any negligence on the part of owners of the motel, which was built in 1960.
``It would be wrong to assume that those stairs were part of the original structure,'' Brabrand said.
A 12-year-old girl from Kennesaw, Ga., was treated and released at Outer Banks Medical Center last week after the stairs collapsed. The remaining injured people were treated for minor scratches and scrapes. by CNB