For one University of Wisconsin freshman, the excitement of his first weekend living away from home ended in disaster.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 18-year-old Witte resident Jason Gratzl was listed in critical condition at UW Hospital after falling from a second-floor balcony late Saturday night. He was attending a party at 453 W. Mifflin St.
Alcohol apparently played a major factor in the fall. Gratzl was leaning over the railing to vomit and lost his balance, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, was on the scene around bar time to see the “gruesome pool of blood that was left on the concrete steps where [Gratzl] landed.”
Verveer said balcony and roof falls in Madison are not a common occurrence and this is an unfortunate exception.
Verveer said he spoke with police officials who were surprised Gratzl initially survived.
“This is such a sad welcome to Madison,” he said.
The accident has created some discussion about the safety of balconies on old buildings near campus.
Balconies are a big focus for the Madison building inspection unit, director Linda Grubb said.
“[Building inspectors] inspect balconies each and every April with a fine-toothed comb” to make sure they are structurally sound and meet all city building codes for the annual Mifflin Street block party, Verveer said.
“The block party results in a lot of people on balconies. Older balconies may not always hold,” Grubb said. She added during pre-block-party inspections inspectors ensure Mifflin balconies can hold large groups. They also inform tenants of the maximum number of people each can support.
Verveer said when he saw the house Saturday night, he noticed the guardrail on the porch is shorter than average — about 30 inches.
A recently adopted city code requires all new and upgraded porch railings be at least 42 inches, according to Verveer. City code also requires railings to be in good condition. Whenever inspectors see a railing that does not meet safety requirements, they order the landlord to repair it and increase the height to 42 inches, he said.
“We have the ability in housing code to accept existing rails or to order them up to the current height,” Grubb said. “It has been policy for 20 years to allow [railings to stay] in their current state. This is a policy that could be changed if City Council looks at it.”
Verveer said he feels this “tragedy” in which alcohol played such a large factor doesn’t warrant a change in law.
“Of the police officials I spoke with, none could remember railings being a factor in falls in the past,” Verveer said. He feels a change in current laws would be expensive and would impact many houses with porches that are outside areas students live. As many as one-fifth of railings in the city would have to be replaced, he said.
Megan Hicks, program director of the Tenant Resource Center, said it is not uncommon for them to receive requests from new tenants to check out the safety of their balcony. The Tenant Resource Center offers information and help to tenants regarding apartment repairs. Hicks did not have any specific numbers of the frequency of these requests.
Hicks said that although this accident is rare, landlords are responsible for ensuring their buildings are properly maintained and meet all building codes.
“Any kind of situation that can compromise the safety of tenants should be [considered] a serious priority,” Hicks said.
UW junior Ashley Wurster, who lives on Mifflin Street, has a roommate that saw the commotion following Gratzl’s fall.
“[The incident] makes us nervous because we have a balcony that we don’t think is very sturdy,” Wurster said, adding she plans to contact her landlord to make sure it meets code requirements.
“We don’t want to have to worry,” she said. “During the Mifflin Street block party, we can’t keep people off the porch. Hopefully we’ll have repairs [by then].”
The residents of 453 Mifflin St. refused to comment.
