Campus Alert Archive
UNT

50 Students Jumping Brought Down the Third-Floor Apartment During Homecoming at the Ridge

TXinfrastructure failureadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On November 12, 2017, at approximately 2:00 AM CST, the third-floor of an apartment unit at The Ridge at North Texas apartments in Denton collapsed during a University of North Texas homecoming party when approximately 50 students were simultaneously jumping to music. Seven people suffered minor injuries as the floor gave way into the apartment below; 48 residents were displaced from Building 1. The Denton Fire Department arrived within four minutes of the initial call.

Alerts
3
Response
4 min
Killed
0
Injured
7
Institution
University of North Texas
Public R1 · TX
~40,000 studentsUNT Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTPhone
Approximate reconstruction230 chars
[911: The floor just collapsed at the party. We're on the third floor at The Ridge apartments and the floor has given in. People fell through. Multiple people are hurt. We need help at the Ridge at North Texas, Building 1. Hurry.]

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Denton Fire Department received the call at approximately 2:00 AM CST on November 12, 2017, and arrived on scene within four minutes; the floor collapse occurred during UNT's homecoming weekend
Cell phone video captured inside the apartment showed the moment the floor gave way as students jumped in unison; the video went viral and was widely shared by national news outlets
The Ridge at North Texas is an off-campus apartment complex primarily housing UNT students; it is located within walking distance of the Denton campus
UPDATEWebsite
Approximate reconstruction507 chars
[Denton Fire Department: We responded to a structural collapse at The Ridge apartment complex on Eagle Drive at approximately 2:00 AM. A third-floor apartment floor has partially collapsed into the unit below during a large gathering. Seven individuals sustained minor injuries. Forty-eight residents have been displaced from Building 1. No life-threatening injuries have been reported. The structure will be assessed before residents can return. Red Cross has been contacted to assist displaced residents.]

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Approximately 50 people had been simultaneously jumping to music in the third-floor apartment when the floor gave way; the apartment below was fortunately unoccupied as those tenants were out of town
Seven people suffered minor injuries from the fall; more serious injuries were avoided because the collapse was only one story down and the lower apartment was not occupied
Forty-eight residents were displaced from Building 1; the Red Cross was contacted to assist displaced residents, several of whom were UNT students
ALL CLEARWebsite
Approximate reconstruction421 chars
[Update from Denton Fire: All injured individuals have been treated and released with minor injuries. A structural engineer is assessing Building 1 at The Ridge apartments before residents may return to their units. Affected residents have been connected with Red Cross and management for temporary housing assistance. The third-floor unit that sustained the collapse and adjacent units remain closed pending inspection.]

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

All seven injured individuals were treated for minor injuries and released; none required hospitalization for serious trauma
A structural engineer conducted an assessment of Building 1 to determine when residents could safely return; the collapse affected the structural integrity of both the failed floor and the apartment below
The incident occurred during UNT's homecoming weekend, one of the highest-traffic periods for off-campus student gatherings in Denton
Context

Background

The November 12, 2017, University of North Texas homecoming floor collapse at The Ridge apartments in Denton illustrates a specific failure mode that occurs at student off-campus housing: the concentration of large numbers of people in an area of floor not designed for dynamic crowd loads. During UNT's homecoming weekend on November 12, approximately 50 students gathered in a third-floor apartment unit at The Ridge at North Texas -- an off-campus complex primarily occupied by UNT students -- and began simultaneously jumping to music. The combined dynamic load of 50 people jumping exceeded the floor's structural capacity and the floor gave way, dropping several students into the apartment below. Cell phone video captured the moment of collapse and was widely shared, making this one of the most-documented party floor collapses at a US university. Denton Fire Department arrived within four minutes; seven people suffered minor injuries and none required hospitalization for serious trauma. The apartment below was fortunately unoccupied. Forty-eight residents of Building 1 were displaced pending structural assessment. Campus Safety Magazine highlighted the incident as an example of the crowd-load risks that arise during high-density student events. The event underscores a recurring pattern: homecoming weekends generate some of the highest concentrations of students in off-campus housing, and these buildings are rarely engineered for the dynamic loads produced by synchronized group jumping.
Analysis

Key Findings

The third-floor apartment at The Ridge at North Texas collapsed at approximately 2:00 AM CST on November 12, 2017, when approximately 50 students were simultaneously jumping to music during UNT's homecoming weekend
Seven people suffered minor injuries; the apartment below was unoccupied, preventing more serious casualties
Denton Fire Department arrived within four minutes; 48 residents of Building 1 were displaced pending structural assessment
Cell phone video of the collapse went viral and was widely covered by national news outlets
The incident is a documented case of dynamic crowd-load failure in student off-campus housing during a mass gathering
Outcome
Seven people suffered minor injuries; no fatalities. 48 residents displaced from Building 1 of the Ridge at North Texas apartments. The apartment below the collapse was unoccupied at the time. Denton Fire Department arrived within four minutes. The building sustained structural damage requiring temporary relocation of residents.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Traumatic time: Apartment floor collapses during UNT homecoming party - Denton Record-Chronicle
    dentonrc.com
  2. News
    Apartment floor collapses during University of North Texas students' party - ABC30
    abc30.com
  3. News
    Apartment floor collapses during student party in Denton - WFAA
    wfaa.com
  4. News
    Cellphone video captures floor collapse during Texas university house party - KSAT
    ksat.com
  5. Source
    Floor Collapses at UNT Homecoming House Party - Campus Safety Magazine
    campussafetymagazine.com
Tags
infrastructure-failurestructural-collapsefloor-collapsehomecomingstudent-housingoff-campuscrowd-emergencyevent-safetytexaspublic-r1
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion