A customer at a Chinese restaurant on Solano Avenue in North Berkeley was injured Friday when a decorative beam fell from the ceiling and struck him in the head, authorities report.
A reader alerted Berkeleyside to the incident at Kirin restaurant and asked for more information.
Assistant Berkeley Fire Chief Keith May said BFD got the call to Kirin at 11:52 a.m. Friday and was on the scene by 11:57 a.m. The restaurant is located at 1767 Solano near Colusa Avenue.
May said the restaurant ceiling has exposed hollow beams overhead that are decorative: “At some point, these decorative beams fell from the interior roof,” he said. One of them hit an elderly gentleman in the head, May said.
The man sustained a 2-inch laceration but remained conscious. BFD has classified it as a minor injury. Paramedics took the man to a local hospital for treatment.
As of Friday afternoon, there was a closed sign on the restaurant door, according to Berkeleyside’s Tracey Taylor. When Taylor went by the restaurant, there was a ladder set up inside near the front window and an orange cone outside the doorway.
There was no answer when Berkeleyside telephoned the restaurant at 1:35 p.m. Friday.
