A porch roof separated from the back of a house and then collapsed Friday night in Oakland, injuring nearly 30 people who were among dozens of revelers who’d gathered for a St. Patrick’s Day weekend party at the house on Semple Street, near the University of Pittsburgh campus.

No one was killed when the porch roof caved in shortly before 5:30 p.m. behind the house in the 300 block of Semple Street. But 16 people were taken to hospitals for treatment — most of them with arm and leg injuries as well as concussions — and at least a dozen others were treated at the scene, a Pittsburgh Public Safety official said.

According to multiple accounts, photos and videos posted on social media, some party-goers had been sitting on the porch roof and others were on the porch under it when the end of the porch roof that had been closest to the house abruptly fell. The entire roof then fell toward a courtyard jammed with more green-clad party-goers, many of whom appeared to be the age of college students.

When Pittsburgh police, firefighters and emergency medical services crews arrived at the house, witnesses told them that several hundred people had been gathered in the communal courtyard space behind the houses, Public Safety spokeswoman Emily Bourne said in a statement. Witnesses also confirmed that people had been on the roof as well as under it on the porch when it collapsed, Bourne said.

Of the 16 injured people who required hospital care, 13 were transported in stable condition and three others were transported in serious but stable condition, according to Bourne. One of those people suffered a broken leg. Those treated at the scene suffered minor abrasions, she said. None of the seriously injured people was immediately identified.

Inspectors from the city Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections also responded and condemned the porch after examining it, Bourne said. “They deemed the residential structure itself to be sound,” she added.

Although the house is not on the University of Pittsburgh campus, Pitt police also responded to the emergency call and said they are assisting city officials with the investigation of the collapse. In a statement on X/Twitter, they noted: “As a reminder, it is never safe to be on rooftops.”

Page 2

A porch roof separated from the back of a house and then collapsed Friday night in Oakland, injuring nearly 30 people who were among dozens of revelers who’d gathered for a St. Patrick’s Day weekend party at the house on Semple Street, near the University of Pittsburgh campus.

No one was killed when the porch roof caved in shortly before 5:30 p.m. behind the house in the 300 block of Semple Street. But 16 people were taken to hospitals for treatment — most of them with arm and leg injuries as well as concussions — and at least a dozen others were treated at the scene, a Pittsburgh Public Safety official said.

According to multiple accounts, photos and videos posted on social media, some party-goers had been sitting on the porch roof and others were on the porch under it when the end of the porch roof that had been closest to the house abruptly fell. The entire roof then fell toward a courtyard jammed with more green-clad party-goers, many of whom appeared to be the age of college students.

When Pittsburgh police, firefighters and emergency medical services crews arrived at the house, witnesses told them that several hundred people had been gathered in the communal courtyard space behind the houses, Public Safety spokeswoman Emily Bourne said in a statement. Witnesses also confirmed that people had been on the roof as well as under it on the porch when it collapsed, Bourne said.

Of the 16 injured people who required hospital care, 13 were transported in stable condition and three others were transported in serious but stable condition, according to Bourne. One of those people suffered a broken leg. Those treated at the scene suffered minor abrasions, she said. None of the seriously injured people was immediately identified.

Inspectors from the city Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections also responded and condemned the porch after examining it, Bourne said. “They deemed the residential structure itself to be sound,” she added.

Although the house is not on the University of Pittsburgh campus, Pitt police also responded to the emergency call and said they are assisting city officials with the investigation of the collapse. In a statement on X/Twitter, they noted: “As a reminder, it is never safe to be on rooftops.”