I have been at three parties where I was very concerned that the porch might collapse. I let logic dictate that I stay on safer turf inside the party. You don’t need to be a physics major to know that, at some point, too much weight and movement may test a structure’s limitations.
My response to these sort of situations stems partly from logic and partly from an incident in college where the first floor of a home partially collapsed into the basement. Luckily, the worst injuries were cuts and bruises. What was so frightening about the collapse was the potential for death and injury. The 50 or more people partying in the basement would have been injured severely or killed had the floor collapsed completely. It was enough to make those of us who were aware of it very cognizant of the potential for such situations.
The main things I’d like to see arise from this tragedy are not bureaucratic finger-pointing and litigation, but highly logical changes such as landlord-tenant leases that include safety warnings, mandated postings of such warnings in highly visible spots, and finally, the use of level-headedness and logic by all.
