Miami area condo collapse

[cellomom]

Again today, not much "new" news overnight. The death toll still stands at 11, but all 11 victims' names have been released. I think there at least a couple of "human remains" identifications pending, but I'm not sure how many.

There are currently more than 400 search & rescue workers working the rubble in 12 hour shifts. I'm sure there are at least that many additional support personnel involved as well.

Yesterday, a lot of the focus was removing large pieces of heavy material from the top of the debris pile. They say this will make recovery work much easier from the top of the pile. Workers are also having some problems with debris falling from the remaining standing portion of the building, so there is a small area they have to avoid.

The weather has also been an issue. We had quite a few thunderstorms yesterday. Weather was better this morning and will be this afternoon. It looks like Wednesday is going to be another thunderstormy day, but then the rest of the week looks better. We're in full rainy season now, so it's going to rain pretty hard for short periods just about every day. To the degree that the rain penetrates the debris pile, of course that is a concern, as is the heat and humidity.

So basically now we are just in the "grind-it-out" stage of the rescue effort. Rescuers have plenty of resources and there is incredible community support for the victims families.

And, of course, one survivor has filed his lawsuit and gotten his 15 minutes of fame in the news media. He had to "wait his turn" to be rescued from his balcony and climbing onto the aerial fire platform was difficult. It was so bad he said his next condo will not be oceanfront.

I can't imagine how the families waiting for information on their loved ones feel about that clown's publicity splash.

Appreciate the information you continue to share, thank you.

 

[JimMIA]

Here's some interesting information about how quickly and effectively the first responding units reacted.

The first responding unit immediately called for a full TRT (Tactical Rescue Team) response and began directing other units to start blocking streets. A huge potential problem in situations like this is the natural reaction is to charge into the scene and start helping -- but that can have disastrous results.

The proper first thing to do is prevent the situation from getting any worse, or out of control -- and that's exactly what Engine 76 did.

The video contains some of the actual radio traffic, including Engine 76 saying, "This looks like the Trade Center."

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local...pse-heard-in-fire-rescue-radio-calls/2482872/

 

[fla4fun]

That is partially correct. I believe she actually said she could not SEE the pool. She was in the easternmost portion of the building, which collapsed last. By the time she got to her window, the middle portion of the building had collapsed and her view of the pool was obstructed by dust from the collapse. Shortly after she made that remark her portion of the building collapsed.

The part of the story that keeps playing over and over for me is that he heard her scream as the building collapsed and the line went dead. Imagine hearing that from a loved one and being helpless to do anything. I would be haunted by that for the rest of my life, even with therapy and other support.

 

[JimMIA]

And just a little while ago, it was announced that another body had been recovered late this afternoon. So the death toll is now at 12.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

The video contains some of the actual radio traffic, including Engine 76 saying, "This looks like the Trade Center."

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local...pse-heard-in-fire-rescue-radio-calls/2482872/

I heard a 911 caller that said the same thing

 

[cellomom]

Here's some interesting information about how quickly and effectively the first responding units reacted.

The first responding unit immediately called for a full TRT (Tactical Rescue Team) response and began directing other units to start blocking streets. A huge potential problem in situations like this is the natural reaction is to charge into the scene and start helping -- but that can have disastrous results.

The proper first thing to do is prevent the situation from getting any worse, or out of control -- and that's exactly what Engine 76 did.

The video contains some of the actual radio traffic, including Engine 76 saying, "This looks like the Trade Center."

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local...pse-heard-in-fire-rescue-radio-calls/2482872/

Once again thank you so much for keeping us up-to-date. Thanks to this link, I checked out other videos posted by this TV station and found one which showed my son’s team Tallahassee‘s USAR Task Force 7.
I have a question that I hope you can answer. My husband and I watched the above video and we are not familiar with the term “Hale” quote- “ 56 is with the engineers, and they are doing the HALE all the way up, knocking HALE all the way up”
What does knocking HALE mean?

 

[belle032]

Such a terrible & tragic event. I can't even imagine. I'm not one to offer up "thoughts & prayers" but my heart goes out to every person affected.

I work in a fire department/code enforcement office and I swear if ANY landlord EVER gives us a hard time about building maintenance, fixing structural problems, code violations, etc again (which is extremely common) - I will show them this video and say "that is why we do this."

 

[ten6mom]

I hope the S/R teams are also receiving counseling for the awful things they're seeing

 

[JimMIA]

I have a question that I hope you can answer. My husband and I watched the above video and we are not familiar with the term “Hale” quote- “ 56 is with the engineers, and they are doing the HALE all the way up, knocking HALE all the way up”
What does knocking HALE mean?

I'm not sure. They might have been saying "Knock and Hail" meaning they were going door-to-door or balcony to balcony trying to see if anyone was still inside the building.

 

[JimMIA]

The latest update this morning is that 4 more bodies were located during the night, bringing the death toll to 16.

 

[Lynne G]

Just so sad. Sending prayers for those whom we lost, and prayers to all their family and friends.

Thank you Jim for posting updates.

 

[JimMIA]

I hope the S/R teams are also receiving counseling for the awful things they're seeing

I'm not sure what Miami Dade Fire has, but Miami Dade PD has a very robust psychological services capability that I'm sure would be shared with the fire department.

I know that the Israeli team brought their counseling team with them. They have been helping with the families waiting, but I'm sure they are also available to their own firefighters.

Not sure what the other USAR teams have.

 

[cellomom]

I'm not sure. They might have been saying "Knock and Hail" meaning they were going door-to-door or balcony to balcony trying to see if anyone was still inside the building.

aww…that makes sense

 

[JimMIA]

So close...and yet so far.

https://www.local10.com/news/local/...d-in-surfside-collapse-but-she-didnt-make-it/

 

[JimMIA]

Latest update: 2 more bodies recovered, death toll now 18 with 145 still missing.

 

[AnnaS]

So so sad a 4 and 10 year old

 

[JimMIA]

Several big things are happening today:

• The most important news is that search and rescue efforts have been paused because of a safety concern. There has been a shift in part of the remaining standing portion of the building, and that creates an unacceptable level of risk for rescue workers below. No word on when search and rescue will resume.
• President Biden will visit with both rescuers and families today in what was hoped to be an uplifting event. However, I'm sure the families thoughts will be focused 100% on the pause in the effort to save their loved ones lives. It's unfortunate timing, but hopefully the visit will still be a positive.
• Tropical Storm Elsa has formed in the tropical Atlantic and South Florida is within the 5-day cone. Elsa is expected to impact South Florida as early as Monday morning, but the degree with which she might affect us is unknown. There is a lot of time between now and Monday, and many things which could change the direction and strength of the system.

No additional bodies were recovered during the night, so the official death toll remains 18. It is likely that the real number is somewhat higher than 18, because almost every day officials have said that additional "human remains" were discovered in addition to the bodies recovered.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

If you can get past the “supernatural” part, this woman’s story of escape from the falling condos is pretty interesting.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ribes-supernatural-feeling-woke-ran-life.html

(My guess would be that the unusual noises the condos were making that many have reported, are what woke her up. Thankfully she had the sense to get out!)

 

[JimMIA]

Search & Rescue resumes
Late news this afternoon -- search and rescue operations have resumed after about a 16-hour pause.

Last night, at 2:11 AM, search and rescue operations were paused because rescue crews heard cracking sounds coming from the remaining standing portion of the building. Engineers inspected the building and determined that there had been movement and shifting in parts of the building which could imperil rescuers. That posed just too much risk, so operations were halted -- but have now resumed.

The numbers remain the same for now -- 18 dead, 145 missing.

It should be noted that there have been a number of instances where authorities have said that "human remains" have been recovered in addition to the identified bodies -- so it is likely that the actual number of deceased is somewhat higher than 18.

The other thing on our plate here in South Florida is Tropical Storm Elsa. The storm is currently in the Atlantic, but is expected to cross the Lesser Antilles tomorrow and enter the Caribbean. All of the south and central part of the Florida peninsula are in the "cone of uncertainty," although it is much too early to guess whether it will actually affect our area.

The last thing the waiting families need is another pause in the search effort.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I live in South Florida, the new news is about the animals left behind . They are using cherry pickers to leave food and water for the animals untill the figure out what to do next.