Search concludes at Fla. condo collapse
Firefighters end effort for human remains at disaster site
After 29 days of searching for human remains at the collapsed South Florida condo, firefighters officially ended their unprecedented and exhausting operation Friday.
Teams from several fire departments in the Miami area were saluted as they left the site where nearly 100 men, women and children were killed.
“To every member of our Urban Search and Rescue Teams: thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in an Instagram story after addressing the crews and thanking many of them individually.
Police and forensic specialists will continue working to identify human remains and investigate what caused the tragic collapse in Surfside, but the role of firefighters in the efforts has finished, Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah told The Associated Press.
At a ceremony on Friday, county Fire Chief Alan Cominsky saluted the firefighters who worked 12-hour shifts while camping out at the site.
“It’s obviously devastating. It’s obviously a difficult situation across the board,” Cominsky said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the men and women that represent Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.”
At least 97 people were killed when half of the 12-story Champlain Towers South crashed to the ground in the middle of the night on June 24. Hundreds of first responders from across the country and overseas joined the massive search operation that ensued, but no one was found alive after the first few hours following the collapse.
Days after the incident, officials decided to implode the remaining portion of the tower as the structure posed a safety risk to the crews. The site has since been cleared, with more than 22 million pounds of concrete and debris taken away, but the safety concerns are not over.
A structural engineer who reviewed the site told officials this week that street where the property sits is at risk of crumbling because an unstable perimeter wall near the road could fail.
“We believe there is a potentially dangerous situation at the site, where the wall is in danger of collapse,” said Allyn Kilsheimer, of KCE Structural Engineers.
He was referring to one of the walls of underground parking garage, the only remaining structure on the property.
“If the wall were to collapse or rotate substantially, the retained soil under the street and sidewalk could move with it,” Kilsheimer said in a letter to Surfside and Miami-Dade officials.
The road, Collins Avenue, has been closed to traffic near the collapse site since the disaster, but officials said they plan on reopening it soon.
Earlier this week, a judge ruled the families affected by the disaster will receive at least $150 million in compensation. The initial payment would come from insurance and the expected proceeds from an eventual sale of the property