text: 2003 chicago balcony collapse on june 29 , 2003 , the deadliest porch collapse in united states history occurred in chicago . an overloaded balcony collapsed during a party in an apartment building , killing thirteen people and seriously injuring fifty - seven others . the ensuing investigation was highly critical of the way the balcony was built , finding a large number of errors in its construction which ultimately resulted in the collapse . however , the building 's owner continues to blame overcrowding on the balcony for its complete structural failure , although he has taken steps to strengthen the balconies at his properties to prevent a recurrence of the disaster . the accident resulted in sweeping inspections of similar structures across chicago , with 1 , 260 cases being actioned by the city authorities . background the porch was attached to the rear of an apartment building located in the lincoln park neighborhood of the city 's north side . the second and third floors were being used as a party venue at the time of the collapse . most of the party - goers were in their early 20s , and knew each other from their days at new trier high school and lake forest high school of chicago 's north shore suburbs . one witness says she warned other people in the building that the balconies were unsafe , but another later said that " it looked like it was newly built . it looked sturdy . " collapse about fifty people were on the top wooden balcony at the time of the collapse . according to one witness , the sound of splintering wood was heard immediately before the collapse , which occurred shortly after midnight local time . the collapse started on the third floor , pulling down other balconies below . the first , second , and third floor balconies all collapsed into the basement below , carrying a total of approximately one hundred people among them . several people were also trapped in a basement stairwell . survivors helped to pull victims out from under the debris of the balconies , and rescue workers had to use chainsaws to free others . one of the survivors was a nurse , and had started a rescue effort before the emergency services arrived . the chicago fire department supplied the main rescue effort . eleven people were killed in the collapse , with two more subsequently dying while hospitalized ; fifty - seven people were injured . investigation initial inquiries suggested that the collapse was probably due to overcrowding . this was backed up by neighbors , who told authorities that the balconies were designed to hold only between twenty and thirty people . chicago 's fire chief said that " it appears to be a case of too many people in a small space . " norma reyes , the city ’ s building commissioner , said " i have no indication of any substandard problems or insufficiencies with the porch at this time . the buildings are not made for large assemblies and parties . " however , it was ultimately determined that poor construction was to blame . in 1998 , a permit was issued to owner lg properties to install furnaces , air conditioners and water heaters in the building , but not to build the balcony . the balcony jutted out eleven feet from the building , one foot further than permitted by city codes , and had an area of 231 square feet ( 21 . 5 m2 ) , 81 square feet ( 7 . 5 m2 ) larger than permitted . the balcony also had inadequate supports , was floored with undersized lengths of wood , and was attached to the walls with screws that were too short . however , the city of chicago 's services department visited this site over 5 times and never noticed or cited the code violations noted above . aftermath three days after the disaster , the city sued the owners and managers of the building in the housing court due to a number of breaches in building regulations . those named in the complaint included lg properties , the company 's president philip pappas , and george , the contractor who built the balcony . the city was reportedly seeking $ 500 per violation for each day the structure was in existence , totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars , and a court order for the replacement of the balcony . the apartment block was legally uninhabitable until the balconies were replaced , as they provided mandatory emergency exits . the city 's buildings department inspected forty - two other buildings owned or managed by pappas and / or lg properties for similar violations . the city also claimed that twenty - one other buildings owned by pappas had similar problems . they did , however , note the fact that he had since made " dramatic improvements " to all twenty - one porches . in the aftermath of the disaster , chicago inspected a huge number of similar structures to ensure they were safe , with 500 cases being turned over to the city 's law department for court action , and 760 cases referred to administrative hearing officers . pappas continued to blame overcrowding for the disaster . however , an undercover press investigation discovered all his properties now display notices forbidding parties on the balconies . pappas also claims that a police report says two unnamed witnesses informed a paramedic that they saw several people " jumping up and down " on the balconies shortly prior to the collapse . in 2005 , the city of chicago filed a negligence lawsuit against two of the survivors , william fenton - hathaway and john koranda . the city alleged that the balcony collapse occurred after defendants fenton - hathaway and koranda " intentionally and negligently " began jumping up and down on the porch . koranda 's brother , robert koranda , was killed in the collapse . the charges against fenton - hathaway and koranda were later dropped . no criminal charges were filed and pappas was fined a total of $ 108 , 000 as a result of the collapse . twenty - seven families sued pappas and the city over the accident . the balcony was rebuilt afterwards , this time with metal . in popular culture the disaster inspired the 2005 season finale of the er television show , titled " the show must go on " .