Firefighters were called to a school prom in United States' Ohio after the venue's floor collapsed as students danced, according to NBC4. The section of the Wigwam event centre is still closed after the dance floor partially caved in on Saturday night, the report further said.
School trustees expressed relief that no one was hurt in the incident.
The event centre said in a Facebook post that an “unforeseen structural concern” caused Pickerington North High School's prom on May 7 to be moved outside to a tent. “The safety of our guests is always our utmost concern and we appreciate the cooperation of every student and guest here tonight,” Saturday's Facebook post further said.
Structural engineers and contractors began an assessment of the damage on Monday.
“We're getting the right people in here to give us the right instructions, so it is done better than it was, and no one needs to be fearful of anything here,” said Terry Dunlap, a trustee of Violet Township, which purchased the centre in 2018.
The fire department spoke to local publication WDTN, and said that during the prom, the north end of the lodge's dance floor saw structural degradation and floorboards give way. It, however, did not reveal why the collapse took place.
Fire Department Assistant Chief Jim Paxton said the dance floor “looks like a 25-foot wide bowl”. “Where the subfloor is still intact, the carpet is still holding, but the substructure underneath is what's given way, so it just kind of looks like a big divet in the floor where the dance floor was,” he told WDTN.
The students, meanwhile, said they had fun. “We kept dancing. We had, like, a dance circle out there and it was pretty fun, but everyone kind of left not too much longer after that,” Pickerington North senior Raydn Allbaugh told WDTN.
According to its Facebook page, the Wigwam centre features a banquet hall that can accommodate approximately 500 people and a 303-seat theatre.
