FL- 12 Story Condo Partial Building Collapse, many still unaccounted for, Miami, 24 June 2021 #2

[Hope32]

The Warnings Were Mounting At A Florida Condo. Officials Demanded Only Minor Repairs

"The Warnings Were Mounting At A Florida Condo. Officials Demanded Only Minor Repairs

Just weeks before Champlain Towers South collapsed, town officials in Surfside, Fla., were demanding immediate changes on the property — but all of their requirements focused on relatively minor concerns.

A poolside gate needed repair. A hedge had to be trimmed to accommodate emergency vehicles. Paving stones had to be replaced.
...
In an email sent in November 2018, town building official Ross Prieto described meeting with residents of Champlain Towers South.
...
What's now clear from emails and other documents is Prieto had already reviewed a troubling engineering study that warned of serious structural erosion.

That nine-page report, completed in October 2018, urged major repairs to the building "in the near future."
...
In January 2019, resident Mara Chouela emailed Prieto, alarmed by a construction project underway next door to Champlain Towers South.

"[They] are digging too close to our property and we have concerns regarding the structure of our building," Chouela wrote.
...
"There is nothing for me to check," Prieto replied, urging the condominium association instead to hire a consultant to monitor for any damage.

Despite a provision in the town's building code that allows officials to demand "repairs or modifications" within 150 days, there's no sign officials urged an immediate response to concerns about the building's decaying concrete and steel structure.
...
The town did regularly demand the condominium association make immediate changes — setting deadlines and threatening fines — but only to relatively minor cosmetic features.

In 2020, condo managers were ordered to alter lighting on the structure to protect turtle nesting sites on the nearby beach.

Last month, the town's code compliance division sent another official letter demanding the condo address other minor safety issues, including replacement of an exit light.


It appear that there are likely failures throughout the system and I'm sure a whole mess is about to be uncovered...

 

[moonlessnight]

yes, it will be interesting to finally hear witness reports, however long they take if there are criminal charges, which I believe there will be.

I know there were some reports of fire alarms that were not functioning properly.

I just woke up with a thought in my head — THE SECURITY GUARD!!

The resident of 111 said she heard noises and ran to the lobby to complain to the security guard because she thought it was construction. Then she was standing there with the security guard when the pool deck collapsed, which they both thought was an earthquake. The woman returned to her apartment to get her children and flee.

WHAT DID THE GUARD DO? Seven minutes passed between the “earthquake” and the collapse. Why didn’t he sound the fire alarm to wake up all the residents? Did he leave the lobby to go check on things? Did he survive?

I think interviewing this guard is going to be important if he is still around.

 

[sunflowerchick]

REPORT PREPARED BY THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMUNITY

Ok I don't understand this. Where did it come from? What's the purpose? Who issued it and why?

 

[Hope32]

Ok I don't understand this. Where did it come from? What's the purpose? Who issued it and why?

Apparently they made this to demonstrate the construction complaints that were filed.... Found it on the last slide of the presentation, but wasn't full able to comprehend what it was saying

"This Study was created on June 27, 2021 because of the number of the Champlain Towers South, survivors, complained the building shook during the demolition of the existing hotel in 2015 and construction through 2018 of the adjacent structure at 8701 Collins Ave.

This information has been provided so that engineers can properly study the timeline and the history of the site, so we make sure this never happens again. This is for my neighbors who lost their lives when Champlain Towers South collapsed.

Teri D’Amico, NCIDQ Certified, Florida Licensed Interior Designer, since 1997
President of DADA Design, North Miami, Florida
• Miami Design Preservation League, Former Board of Director
• Adjunct Professor at FIU, Florida International University, School of Architecture Courses included – Construction Drawing in AutoCAD, Hospitality Design & Morris Lapidus Survey
• Co‐Founder, Editor, MiMo, Miami Modern Architecture
• Graduate of The Ohio State University • Studied Architecture under Professor, Santiago Aranaqui, Miami‐Dade College, Structural Engineer, MEP Engineer, Architect / AIA
• The City of Miami Beach Design Review Board, Former Member (the zoning committee that would approve the design of 8701 Collins)
• The Town of Bay Harbor Islands, Former Design Review Board Member"

 

[SoCalDavidS]

Watching the workers sitting there with buckets, picking up pieces of rocks, and scooping dirt into them, then passing the bucket down and starting a new one. How can anyone believe that there are survivors under that pile?

I'm all for faith and miracles, but it seems that nobody wants to be the one to say that the "rescue" part is long over. Besides the massive pieces of rubble, the lack of air, the fire and smoke, the rain, and the lack of drinkable water, which a human can't survive without for more than around 6 days, there is no chance of any survivors. Any that did exist, have been deceased within hours of the collapse.

This false hope, will eventually become reality, when all the missing are eventually found. And it won't lessen the pain and anguish, merely delay it, and lead people to believe there's a chance, when there is literally not even the tiniest of possibilities that someone is still alive under the rubble.

 

[moonlessnight]

despite needed repairs to the building and the pool deck, I do not believe that building suddenly collapsed by itself. The only way that happened is if an original small collapse (parking garage debris and flooding) caused electrical fires and/or explosions that brought the rest of the building down. Or could cars have exploded if the garage was flooded and live electrical wires were conducted by the water to trigger the gasoline in the car tanks?

MOO - It will take months if not a year or more, but we will discover that there were major and immediate precipitating events that brought that building down, beyond persistent disrepair and a small concrete collapse in the parking garage.

I know everyone has seen the flashing lights, but I've attached a sequence of screen shots that depict the strange pattern of lights and the reflection of lights on various parts of the building as the main section collapsed and in the pause before the beachside collapsed, circled in red. The last photo (3rd) shows the parts of the building that were light-up in various patterns in the previous 2 pictures have gone dark, but there is a white light in the center of smoke circled in black. This last white light occurred just before the beachside section collapsed.

The rest of the screen shots just repeat the sequence close up.

In a summary of work performed produced by Morabito Consultants on October 13, 2020, the company reported it had discovered several issues, including potentially deep deterioration of concrete near the pool area.

Full restoration and repair work "could not be performed" because the pool "was to remain in service for the duration of the work" and because the necessary aggressive excavation of concrete at the pool "could affect the stability of the remaining adjacent concrete constructions."

Concrete testing at the Champlain Towers South condo last year “yielded some curious results,” engineering firm Morabito Consultants wrote in an October 2020 report obtained by the Miami Herald. But the report was silent on exactly what was unusual or alarming about it, an omission that surprised multiple experts who spoke with the Miami Herald…
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252511773.html


Florida condo collapse: fall repairs delayed by unexpected damage

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Watching the workers sitting there with buckets, picking up pieces of rocks, and scooping dirt into them, then passing the bucket down and starting a new one. How can anyone believe that there are survivors under that pile?

I'm all for faith and miracles, but it seems that nobody wants to be the one to say that the "rescue" part is long over. Besides the massive pieces of rubble, the lack of air, the fire and smoke, the rain, and the lack of drinkable water, which a human can't survive without for more than around 6 days, there is no chance of any survivors. Any that did exist, have been deceased within hours of the collapse.

This false hope, will eventually become reality, when all the missing are eventually found. And it won't lessen the pain and anguish, merely delay it, and lead people to believe there's a chance, when there is literally not even the tiniest of possibilities that someone is still alive under the rubble.

Perhaps to give time for folks to accept? Such a tragedy and hopes dashed... when do they call it off.

Dunno.

I would compare to the MOO 40% never identified as of 2019 in 9/11, but would be off topic/against TOS ?? for WS to start such discussion.

 

[GatorFL]

Apparently they made this to demonstrate the construction complaints that were filed.... Found it on the last slide of the presentation, but wasn't full able to comprehend what it was saying

"This Study was created on June 27, 2021 because of the number of the Champlain Towers South, survivors, complained the building shook during the demolition of the existing hotel in 2015 and construction through 2018 of the adjacent structure at 8701 Collins Ave.

This information has been provided so that engineers can properly study the timeline and the history of the site, so we make sure this never happens again. This is for my neighbors who lost their lives when Champlain Towers South collapsed.

Teri D’Amico, NCIDQ Certified, Florida Licensed Interior Designer, since 1997
President of DADA Design, North Miami, Florida
• Miami Design Preservation League, Former Board of Director
• Adjunct Professor at FIU, Florida International University, School of Architecture Courses included – Construction Drawing in AutoCAD, Hospitality Design & Morris Lapidus Survey
• Co‐Founder, Editor, MiMo, Miami Modern Architecture
• Graduate of The Ohio State University • Studied Architecture under Professor, Santiago Aranaqui, Miami‐Dade College, Structural Engineer, MEP Engineer, Architect / AIA
• The City of Miami Beach Design Review Board, Former Member (the zoning committee that would approve the design of 8701 Collins)
• The Town of Bay Harbor Islands, Former Design Review Board Member"

Oh wow an interior designer conducting a study that needed to be done by structural engineers.

 

[Hope32]

.... snipped by me
I know everyone has seen the flashing lights, but I've attached a sequence of screen shots that depict the strange pattern of lights and the reflection of lights on various parts of the building as the main section collapsed and in the pause before the beachside collapsed, circled in red. The last photo (3rd) shows the parts of the building that were light-up in various patterns in the previous 2 pictures have gone dark, but there is a white light in the center of smoke circled in black. This last white light occurred just before the beachside section collapsed.
...

I have always thought that the flashes while weird were probably just electrical lines and various other utilities that were being broken as it was falling.. So many people I have seen jump to mini explosions leading to the collapse were to me it was like when a transformer blew in the winter due to ice..

 

[Hope32]

Oh wow an interior designer conducting a study that needed to be done by structural engineers.

I mean " Adjunct Professor at FIU, Florida International University, School of Architecture Courses included – Construction Drawing in AutoCAD, Hospitality Design & Morris Lapidus Survey"
Seems they are certified

 

[moonlessnight]

Doesn't it seem quite noticeable how intensely light-up the back of the building is during the initial collapse and how dark it goes before the last flash that collapses the beachside section?

what really gets me is how the beachside remains standing until the last white flash, and then it starts to collapse. I've attached agonizing frame by frame screenshots of that.

I have always thought that the flashes while weird were probably just electrical lines and various other utilities that were being broken as it was falling.. So many people I have seen jump to mini explosions leading to the collapse were to me it was like when a transformer blew in the winter due to ice..

 

[moonlessnight]

and to address the idea that those lights were from apartments and once the building was down the electricity was out, the screenshots attached show the lights on the back of the building come on at once as the flashes on the front go out and the building starts to fall, and the lights continuing to flash and reflect next to/below the elevator machine room on the roof after the entire building was down. The last three flashes occur on the video at :49, :51, and 1:02.

 

[Ann99]

Surfside condo collapse: Royal Caribbean offers cruise ship to first responders

SURFSIDE, Fla. — Royal Caribbean is offering a cruise ship for first responders to use as a place to stay this weekend while they continue to work in the rubble at a condominium collapse in South Florida...
The cruise line offered 600 workers rooms on its Explorer of the Seas vessel, which docked Thursday in Miami, WSVN reported...
...Officials said the search and rescue dogs will also be welcomed.

 

[SouthAussie]

Watching the workers sitting there with buckets, picking up pieces of rocks, and scooping dirt into them, then passing the bucket down and starting a new one. How can anyone believe that there are survivors under that pile?

I'm all for faith and miracles, but it seems that nobody wants to be the one to say that the "rescue" part is long over. Besides the massive pieces of rubble, the lack of air, the fire and smoke, the rain, and the lack of drinkable water, which a human can't survive without for more than around 6 days, there is no chance of any survivors. Any that did exist, have been deceased within hours of the collapse.

This false hope, will eventually become reality, when all the missing are eventually found. And it won't lessen the pain and anguish, merely delay it, and lead people to believe there's a chance, when there is literally not even the tiniest of possibilities that someone is still alive under the rubble.

I put up a post a bit earlier that basically says that they are using the buckets and going slowly because they are trying to locate anything that can identify a person who is under the rubble.

Without going into too much detail, this would mean not just whole persons.
Using large machinery will not allow them to sift in this manner.

 

[sds71]

@LeoFeldmanNEWS

@MayorDaniella
signs emergency order to demolish the remaining structure but engineers need to sign off

Crestview Tower Condominium residents must evacuate after the city of North Miami Beach orders its closure following inspection.
Following the Surfside Building Collapse, audits were ordered for buildings 40 years or older and 6 stories or higher. It's a 156 unit building.

 

[LadyL]

The 7-year-old daughter of Miami fire department employee among Surfside building collapse victims - CNN

 

[LadyL]

Watching the workers sitting there with buckets, picking up pieces of rocks, and scooping dirt into them, then passing the bucket down and starting a new one. How can anyone believe that there are survivors under that pile?

I'm all for faith and miracles, but it seems that nobody wants to be the one to say that the "rescue" part is long over. Besides the massive pieces of rubble, the lack of air, the fire and smoke, the rain, and the lack of drinkable water, which a human can't survive without for more than around 6 days, there is no chance of any survivors. Any that did exist, have been deceased within hours of the collapse.

This false hope, will eventually become reality, when all the missing are eventually found. And it won't lessen the pain and anguish, merely delay it, and lead people to believe there's a chance, when there is literally not even the tiniest of possibilities that someone is still alive under the rubble.

so sad

 

[SuziQ]

North Miami Beach condo ordered shut, 300 residents need to leave immediately, city says

 

[bears10]

Oh wow an interior designer conducting a study that needed to be done by structural engineers.

Yeah thank god for the engineering reports.

 

[SuziQ]

Crestview Towers condo in North Miami Beach being evacuated due to unsafe conditions – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale