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An emergency town commission meeting has been held after residents of the sister apartment building of the Champlain Towers South unit that collapsed killing at least ten on Thursday, noticed huge cracks in their own building.
‘I am afraid that there could be some issue in our building that will result in what we saw in Champlain Towers South,’ said Champlain Towers East resident Robert Lisman at a meeting in Surfside, Florida on Friday night,
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett pledged to a building review for the remaining East and North Champlain Towers, saying it was ‘imprudent not to take some types of steps to address that issue with the sister building.’
Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer added that Surfside must expand and increase building recertification requirements and called for additional studies to help prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.
The emergency meeting was held just one day after the formerly 12-story Champlain Towers South collapsed. As of Monday, at least ten have been confirmed as dead and 156 are still missing.
Authorities in Miami-Dade County are continuing to search for survivors who might be trapped in air pockets under the collapsed Towers South rubble. Search and rescue dogs have been deployed on scene as of Friday morning.
Residents at Towers East and North buildings are now worried after spotting cracks in their units following Thursday’s collapse, which has left at least 10 dead
Structural damage can be seen at Champlain Towers East, adjacent to the site of Thursday’s condo collapse, causing residents great concern over the integrity of their own building
Aerial view of Champlain Towers South (collapsed) and Champlain Towers East, which was the site of Thursday’s fatal building collapse in Surfside, Florida
The extent of the damage from Thursday’s partial collapse can still be seen as of Monday, as officials held an emergency town meeting to address concerns of nearby residents
During Friday’s meeting, residents and town officials alike discussed how the recent tragedy will affect building certification and recertification processes, which currently involve inspections every 40 years according to area news affiliate Local10.com.
‘Hurricane Andrew changed the Florida building codes forever, so this terrible tragedy, which is a national tragedy, is going to change the building codes as they relate to certification,’ the town’s building official, James ‘Jim’ McGuinness, said during Friday’s emergency meeting.
McGuinness says he was in the process of inspecting the replacement roof’s anchor at the Champlain Towers South around 14 hours before a part of the structure collapsed.
While work was being done on the Towers South rooftop at 8777 Collins Ave., McGuinness stresses that nothing on the roof would have caused the building to crumble like it did.
‘There was no inordinate amount of equipment or materials or anything on that roof that caught my building official’s eye that would make it alarming as to this place collapsing,’ he said, while noting that the cause of the collapse still remains under investigation as of Monday.
Residents of the adjacent Champlain Towers East high-rise voiced their growing concerns to Surfside officials at Friday’s emergency town meeting, having noticed cracks appearing in their building following Thursday’s nearby fatal collapse.
‘I am afraid that there could be some issue in our building that will result in what we saw in Champlain Towers South,’ said Champlain Towers East resident Robert Lisman
Beach view of the Champlain Towers South (left) and Champlain Towers East (right) sister building prior to the partial collapse of the south tower
Search and Rescue teams look for possible survivors on Monday in the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building
Search dogs and rescue crews are being used to help find more than 150 people that are still missing from the partial building collapse
Town officials had previously hosted an information session at the community center at nearby 9301 Collins Ave. for those residents who are still looking for unaccounted-for relatives shortly after the collapse.
Mayor of Miami-Dade County Daniella Levine Cava said relatives were being briefed twice every day since the fatal collapse, while displaced residents were ultimately moved to Grand Beach Hotel Surfside on Friday, according to the local news outlet.
For more information or to report the status of a loved one who is still unaccounted for, call 305-614-1819 or 305-993-1071.
