4 injured after structure collapses at University of Idaho fraternity

A structure collapse at a University of Idaho fraternity house in Moscow sent four people to hospitals Saturday night. At least two suffered serious injuries.

The incident happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday at the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, which builds a fort structure every year outside its fraternity house. The platform that collapsed was 6 to 7 feet above the ground, said Brian Nickerson, fire chief for Moscow Volunteer Fire.

Four people were taken to a hospital, he said, including one person who was flown that night by helicopter for more specialized medical care because of the “significance of the injuries,” he told the Idaho Statesman. Another person was transferred to a different hospital Sunday morning with serious injuries.

Nickerson said he was not aware of any other injuries.

An investigation is being conducted into how the structure was constructed and why it failed, Nickerson said.

“Those are conversations we’re going to be having over the next week or two weeks … so we can try to prevent it obviously from happening again,” he said.

The Statesman has reached out to the University of Idaho, the Interfraternity Council and the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity for comment.