TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — After a nearly two-year wait, we’re finally getting some answers about the Surfside condo collapse that killed 98 people.
Federal investigators just revealed there were serious issues with the 12-story beachfront condo’s pool deck. These findings are preliminary and investigators have months more work to do.
Still, this is a significant development for families who have been waiting years for closure.
For the past two years, federal investigators have been testing building materials, interviewing witnesses and looking at video and records to get a clearer picture of what went wrong.
Video from a nearby building captured the collapse, which happened without warning at approximately 1:30 a.m. on June 24, 2021. Crews searched the rubble for weeks.
Raquel Oliveria lost her husband Alfredo and 5 year-old son, Lorenzo.
“Everything I had was there, so not only I lost my husband and my son, but I don’t even have any memories,” Oliveria said.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology or NIST is the federal agency in charge of investigating building collapses. Glenn Bell is one of two lead investigators.
“This investigation is one of the most complex and challenging of its type ever undertaken,” said Bell. “Our findings and recommendations will likely have implications for structures all across the United States and other places in the world.”
During an online presentation, Bell revealed the preliminary findings and said there were serious issues with the condo’s pool deck, which had a “severe strength deficiency.”
“The original structural design of the slabs and the slab column connections in the pool deck fell well short of the applicable building code,” said Bell.
Bell said the original design was flawed and from the beginning. The reinforcement slabs were misplaced. Over the years, the slabs started to corrode, and heavy planters placed next to the pool didn’t help. The palm trees, once inside the planters, were nearly three stories tall.
“But the weight of those palm trees and the action of the wind blowing on them could have damaged the slabs over the time that they were there,” said Bell.
The main question remains unanswered: Did the pool deck fail, destabilizing the building and triggering a collapse?
Bell says the final report should be complete by Spring of 2025.
Investigators are also exploring two dozen other failure hypotheses.
It’s still possible that the collapse was triggered by an issue with the building, not the pool deck.
“We have to get this investigation right. We cannot leave any stone unturned,” said Bell.
If you have a story tip, email Investigator Mahsa Saeidi at MSaeidi@WFLA.com
