Folsom Knew Of Apartment Dry Rot Issues Before Deadly Accident, But Not Safety Risk

FOLSOM (CBS13) — The city of Folsom says all it knew about the stairway issues at an apartment complex were that management wanted to perform some repairs to fix wood rot.

Shunxiang Yuan, 26, was visiting the complex on Friday when a stairwell at the Legends At Willow Creek Apartments gave way, causing him to fall to his death.

The incident wasn't the first collapse at the complex. Another flight of stairs collapsed last summer, but no one was injured.

Folsom city building official Steve Burger says apartment management told them was they needed permits to repair dry rot. They had no indication there was such a close call.

"If they had called us, we would have been out here, and we would have wanted some assurance that what was going on was okay. We would have probably ordered some sort of investigation," he said.

Burger insists at no point did the city sign off on any repairs to the stairwell that took Yuan's life on Friday.

Work crews were seen throughout the complex on Thursday working on stairways. In the meantime residents have received a notice from management warning them to only go one at a time on any staircase in the complex and to talk to staff before carrying heavy items on the stairs.

"It worries me more because, why are you now telling me I can go up and down the stairs one person at a time?" said resident John Punzal.

Landlord tenant attorney Keith Banks says those wanting to break their lease and leave are probably within their rights.

"The tenant should not be in fear of danger or injury or anyway physically related when it comes to where they live and coming in and out of their home," he said.

It's unclear how long the work will take, or how long residents will have to worry about putting too much weight on the steps.

Yuan's family is said to be filing a lawsuit against the owners who have admitted in the past they knew there were problems with the stairs.