Council to look at balcony safety after deck fall that injured eight Ten people were taken to hospital after a balcony collapsed in Lane Cove, Sydney. A BALCONY that collapsed while a dozen people were having dinner may not have been properly certified. Eight people were taken to hospital after falling more than 5m on to the concrete below when the balcony fell. Emergency services called to a duplex on the Pacific Highway, Lane Cove, about 10.15pm found people "scattered across the ground." "It was a family dinner and they had just finished and gotten up when it gave way," Inspector Jeff Bell said. One minute they had a lovely evening and a nice dinner and all of a sudden they're on the ground. A 31-year-old woman will have surgery today after falling further than most of the other victims. Insp Bell said the balcony "become vertical" and some people slid to another balcony below, while others landed on a car port.Lane Cove mayor Scott Bennison said the council was working closely with police to determine whether the structure collapsed because it was poorly inspected or whether the certifiers had, in fact, done a proper job and there was another reason for the failure. "We are concerned about some private certifiers," Mr Bennison said. Most do the right thing but there are the odd ones who don't and they pose a risk to the community. Councils do not control inspections. The onus is on the builder to have work certified. "We're not in favour of it," Mr Bennison said. We'd prefer to be the certifier - that way if something goes wrong we can take full responsibility. Building company Addbuild Master Builders Pty Ltd confirmed it built the deck but had no idea what could have caused the collapse. "We have to wait until we have inspected the deck and conferred with engineers and authorities before we know more," general manager Cheryl Paton said. She said the deck had been certified by Greenfield Accredited Certifiers, which has since gone into liquidation. The certifier at the time of the construction said he could not remember the case and would have to check his files before commenting. "It was a long time ago," he said. But the company is a reputable company and quite proficient in their framework. Frame inspections would have been done. Neighbour Peter Smith, 30, was one of the first people on the scene after hearing "a huge crash." " (It) sounded like a huge glass panel breaking and lots of noise and a bit of screaming and I came running out," Mr Smith said.