Local News

State inspection documents indicate the property’s exterior structures were most recently inspected in August of 1998, a certification that expired in 2003.

The third-story porch that collapsed in Roxbury last weekend may have been more than 20 years overdue for an inspection, according to state inspection documents.

The Boston Globe first reported that the property’s exterior structures were most recently inspected in August of 1998, according to records from Boston’s Inspectional Services Department. The certification expired March 20, 2003.

A four-by-ten-foot section of the porch collapsed late Saturday night at 527 Dudley St., the Boston Fire Department reported. Seven people were injured when the porch fell about 12 feet onto a second floor landing. Three people were transported to a hospital, officials said.

According to Massachusetts building code, “all exterior bridges, steel or wooden stairways, fire escapes and egress balconies” are required to be tested every five years by a professional, who then submits an affidavit attesting to its safety.

The porch is affixed to the back of 527 Dudley St., which includes a liquor store in the front of the building. Fernandez Brothers Liquors faces North Avenue.

Deed records show that the ownership of the building was transferred to Ignacio Fernandez in 2020. Fernandez owns the liquor store at the property, according to business records. Calls to the liquor store Wednesday were not returned.

The Inspectional Services Department did not return a request for comment to Boston.com, but a spokesperson told the Globe they were reviewing the property’s file to determine if 1998 was the most recent inspection. An investigation into the collapse is ongoing.

“If we don’t notice it, and it hasn’t been brought to our attention, then we’ll rely to the community and the public to give us a call,” the spokesperson told the Globe. “We can conduct an inspection and follow up that way.”