Firefighters end search and rescue at Florida condo collapse

Firefighters have ended their mission in clearing debris from the collapsed Surfside condo building Friday, officials said, while police and forensic specialists continue their work to identify human remains in the disaster.

News 12 Staff

Jul 23, 2021, 5:05 PM

Updated 1,099 days ago

Share:

Firefighters end search and rescue at Florida condo collapse
Firefighters have ended their mission in clearing debris from the collapsed Surfside condo building Friday, officials said, while police and forensic specialists continue their work to identify human remains in the disaster.
Miami Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told The Associated Press that the fire department’s role in recovering remains at the collapsed Surfside condominium has finished.
They left the site in a convoy of fire engines and other vehicles and drove slowly to their headquarters.
The June 24 collapse killed at least 97 people and at least one more person believed missing in the disaster has yet to be identified.
The disaster site in Surfside is empty now, but it remains a challenge for local officials. An engineer hired to help figure out why the building collapsed warned that the site may still not be safe.
Structural engineer Allyn Kilsheimer told Surfside and Miami-Dade officials in a letter Thursday that Collins Avenue could crumble because a remaining perimeter wall near the road could fail. The development was first reported Friday by the Miami Herald and WPLG.
“We believe there is a potentially dangerous situation at the site, where the wall is in danger of collapse,” Kilsheimer wrote.
All that remains of the Champlain building are the walls of the underground parking garage, around a hollowed-out foundation, and Kilsheimer says that without more support for those walls, nearby traffic could make them collapse, with parts of the street falling into the void.
“If the wall were to collapse or rotate substantially, the retained soil under the street and sidewalk could move with it,” wrote Kilsheimer, of KCE Structural Engineers.
He recommends building an earthen berm to support the walls near the street and sidewalk. Otherwise, the movement “could cause portions of the street to collapse and could seriously compromise the utilities under the street,” he wrote.
Miami-Dade County is bringing in crews to help shore up the remaining underground walls, Rachel Johnson, the county’s communications director, told the Herald.
“We are moving to procure a company to do shoring and bracing of the walls to assure there is no risk,” she said.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal agency investigating the collapse, has been monitoring the site’s safety.
Collins Avenue, which is the major thoroughfare on the barrier island, has been closed to traffic near the site since June 24, but town officials had said Collins Avenue would be opening soon.
In the letter, Kilsheimer said heavy rain would increase the risks substantially because the ground becomes saturated with water.


More from News 12
1:40
Lithium-ion battery fire blamed for closure of Newburgh tailor shop

Lithium-ion battery fire blamed for closure of Newburgh tailor shop

2:08
Sun skies and warm temps for Saturday in the Hudson Valley

Sun skies and warm temps for Saturday in the Hudson Valley

0:52
Slate Hill family of 5 loses home in afternoon blaze

Slate Hill family of 5 loses home in afternoon blaze

0:37
2 people charged in Middletown narcotics; firearms bust

2 people charged in Middletown narcotics; firearms bust

1:30
Motorcycle, van crash in Greenburgh causes serious injuries

Motorcycle, van crash in Greenburgh causes serious injuries

0:56
News 12 probes mystery cloud traced to Orange County & seen throughout tri-state area

News 12 probes mystery cloud traced to Orange County & seen throughout tri-state area

1:02
Hillcrest Fire Department receives 2,000 cans of drinking water, courtesy of Anheuser-Busch

Hillcrest Fire Department receives 2,000 cans of drinking water, courtesy of Anheuser-Busch

1:37
Storm Watch Team Meteorologist Skyler Harman strikes down lightning myths

Storm Watch Team Meteorologist Skyler Harman strikes down lightning myths

2:33
Can swimming become dangerous due to extremely high water surface temperatures?

Can swimming become dangerous due to extremely high water surface temperatures?

0:32
NYC officials: Westchester caseworker’s death ruled a homicide

NYC officials: Westchester caseworker’s death ruled a homicide

0:40
State, federal lawmakers introduce legislation to shorten funding gap for World Trade Center Health Program

State, federal lawmakers introduce legislation to shorten funding gap for World Trade Center Health Program

0:34
Ex Frito-Lay employee files defamation lawsuit against PepsiCo claiming he invented ‘Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

Ex Frito-Lay employee files defamation lawsuit against PepsiCo claiming he invented ‘Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

0:40
Executive orders still in place preventing Rockland County and Orange County hotels from converting into migrant shelters

Executive orders still in place preventing Rockland County and Orange County hotels from converting into migrant shelters

0:54
Headlines: Drug ring prison sentence, Newburgh felony charge, uptick in car thefts in Briarcliff Manor

Headlines: Drug ring prison sentence, Newburgh felony charge, uptick in car thefts in Briarcliff Manor

0:20
Man sentence to 10 years in prison for running Orange County drug ring

Man sentence to 10 years in prison for running Orange County drug ring

1:18
Town of Wallkill propose noise ordinances at Orange County fairgrounds

Town of Wallkill propose noise ordinances at Orange County fairgrounds

0:22
Rockland athlete to compete in U.S. Olympic rowing team

Rockland athlete to compete in U.S. Olympic rowing team

0:27
Slate Hill FD: Garage fire brought under control

Slate Hill FD: Garage fire brought under control

0:32
Rockland hiker rescued by firefighters in Gurnee Park

Rockland hiker rescued by firefighters in Gurnee Park

0:34
Finger in salad lawsuit against Chop’t discontinued

Finger in salad lawsuit against Chop’t discontinued