An Indiana University of Pennsylvania student who is friends with several people injured when an apartment floor collapsed during an off-campus party was shaken by the severity of the incident.

Reaction of other students have been mixed, said Corryn Miller, an IUP junior from Johnstown.

“Some people are taking it very seriously and recognizing things could have been much worse, and some are taking it as a joke,” Miller said.

Twelve people were injured late Saturday when a floor collapsed inside Elm by Traverse Commons apartment complex in White Township near Indiana University of Pennsylvania, state police said.

Eight people were taken to Indiana Regional Medical Center after a section of the three-story building’s second floor collapsed into the first floor, according to state police. The injuries ranged from minor to serious, said police, who responded at about 11:50 p.m.

All of those brought to the hospital from the collapse were treated and released, said Mark Richards, the hospital’s chief growth officer.

Township officials visited the apartments Monday and met with the property manager and a contractor and engineer hired by the owner to address the damage to the building.

As a result of the collapse, “per our code, the apartment is a dangerous structure,” township Manager Chris Anderson said. “As part of that code, we’re going to require them to give us a plan to bring it back up to where it’s habitable.”

Messages left seeking comment from the property management firm weren’t immediately returned.

Weekend event

Miller didn’t attend the party at the apartment complex during IUPatty’s, an annual off-campus spring weekend celebration that is planned by students and is not sanctioned by the university.

There were an estimated 50 to 60 people attending a party at the apartment, Miller said.

Three of her friends were at the party.

After the collapse, Miller said, one friend “was actually underneath a washer-and-dryer combo. It was hanging over her, and there were some people holding it up to keep it from falling on top of her.”

“They’ve been resting up the past few days,” Miller said of her friends, indicating they weren’t willing to speak to the media.

The collapse involved two stacked apartments in a row of townhouses about a mile away from the university campus.

The kitchen area on the lower floor of a two-story apartment that faces Medlar Drive collapsed into a one-story dwelling that faces Copper Beech Drive, township officials said.

In the first-floor apartment, township spokesman Chauncey Ross learned, “A resident was in his bedroom. It was in the back portion of his apartment, away from the area that collapsed, and he was not injured. It was a close call.”

Officials have not indicated what may have caused the collapse. A video posted to YouTube shows the moment of the collapse and events before and after the floor’s failure.

Before the collapse, the area can be seen crowded with people. After the collapse, some of them attempt to climb up to a section of the second floor that remained intact.

Police said most of the people who were in the area that collapsed escaped through a broken first-floor window, and many suffered cuts in the process. Among those hurt was a woman with a cut on her wrist, police said.

Officials couldn’t say how many of those affected were IUP students.

When the apartments were constructed, in the early 2000s, they were subject to state occupancy permit regulations and the township land development ordinance. Since then, White Township has adopted the Uniform Construction Code and employed its own building code official.

47 arrests over weekend

This year, state police assigned to an IUPatty’s detail from Thursday through Sunday, made 47 arrests including: one each for aggravated assault and fleeing or eluding police; two each for carrying a false identification card, misrepresenting one’s age and possessing prohibited drugs or related paraphernalia; three each for disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and firearms violations.

A New Kensington woman was arrested Friday night on charges including taunting a police animal, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. State police said she grabbed the hand of a trooper who was holding onto a backpack worn by a man being detained for disorderly conduct.

Police said she then hit a state police horse in the neck and stomach several times while resisting arrest,

Police arrested 20 minors for possession of alcohol over the extended weekend. There were seven arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol and three for driving under the influence of drugs.

Additionally, state police investigated eight vehicle wrecks, completed 178 traffic stops and issued 126 traffic citations and 81 written warnings.

IUP provided transportation assistance to two students who were affected by the floor collapse and it has offered other help, including temporary housing and making contact with family members, university spokeswoman Michelle Fryling said.

Officials coordinate weekend preparations

The Indiana Area Collaborative Team (I-ACT) of officials from IUP, Indiana County, local municipalities and first response agencies holds executive committee meetings regularly throughout the year and coordinates plans with additional stakeholders in advance of two annual events that draw large numbers of visitors to the university and its surroundings: IUP Homecoming festivities and IUPatty’s.

That preparation showed in the response to Saturday night’s floor collapse, Fryling said.

“To manage that kind of a situation shows how truly professional, well-trained and well-coordinated our first responders are,” she said. “They know what has worked and they know what to expect, and they did an incredible job this year.”

A local association of landlords is involved in planning for the major weekends, and many have specified capacity limits for their leased units, Fryling said.

Student representatives also are included in the planning process.

“Our students have stepped up,” said Fryling. “They don’t want a bad reputation for IUP. They hold each other accountable.

“There are some students who make mistakes, and we want to thank our first responders for the work they do to help keep them safe.”

Unruly, alcohol-fueled crowds packed borough streets during the 2014 IUPatty’s celebration. Police responded to dozens of calls and were taunted by partiers on South Seventh Street, where a crowd grew to more than 400 and brawls were recorded and posted on the internet. Those episodes prompted formation of the I-ACT group.

There were two off-campus shootings during the 2o17 event.

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