What Caused a Surfside Tower to Collapse?

After people pick up the pieces of their lives, after the stories of heroism are told, after the dead are buried, we'll still be asking: What caused a wing of a 12-story oceanfront condo in Surfside to collapse?

The building had been undergoing roof work for the past six months, but Surfside Mayor Charles W. Burkett said it is unknown whether this was a factor in the tragedy at 8777 Collins Ave. Residents also have complained to reporters about cracks that turned up around their building during construction of a neighboring structure at 8701 Collins Ave. that caused “shaking.”

Experts have long cited five reasons why buildings collapse: 1. Foundations are too weak. 2. Building materials aren't strong enough. 3. Workers make mistakes. 4. The load is heavier than expected. And 5. Its strength isn't tested. But there is another consideration – saltwater intrusion hastened by sea-level rise. Salt breaks down building materials, causing infamously corrosive effects on steel and concrete, including foundations, pilings, sidewalks and structural walls.

Champlain Towers South is 40 years old. In accordance with an ordinance passed in 1975 by the then Metro-Dade County Commission, it was due for a recertification, one that would recur every 10 years thereafter.

According to TownOfSurfsideFL.gov, a building owner or owner's representative must hire a registered architect and/or a professional engineer to perform electrical and structural inspections and submit completed inspection reports to the governmental compliance section of the town’s building department for review and approval.

Such reports, yet to be submitted by Champlain Towers South, would certify that each such building is structurally and electrically safe – or had been made structurally and electrically safe – for continued occupancy.

The inspiration for the 1975 building code revision was the collapse one year prior of a 1920s-era office building at 1201 NE 2nd Ave. in downtown Miami that housed the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration Regional Office. Two DEA agents and five office workers were killed in the incident; 20 additional people were injured.

The 40-year recertification law has not been enacted statewide, although Broward County passed a similar law in 2006.

There have been other tragic building accidents in Florida.

In March 1981, the five-story Harbor Cay Condominium project in Cocoa Beach collapsed, killing 11 workers and injuring 27 others. The accident occurred while workmen were pouring concrete on the unfinished roof. Design and construction flaws were blamed for the catastrophe. Two engineers, an architect and two contractors were charged with negligence, misconduct and failing to conform to state and local building laws. Two years later, the state legislature enacted a law requiring additional inspections for buildings more than three stories in height and with an occupancy of more than 500 people, according to a 1987 Orlando Sentinel story.

In October 2012, four construction workers were killed when a partially completed parking garage for Miami Dade College’s Doral Campus pancaked. The contractor, Ajax Building, and subcontractors working on the garage later paid a $33.5 million settlement to the college and undisclosed settlements to the deceased construction workers’ families.

In June 2013, 33 people were injured when the waterfront deck of Shuckers Bar and Restaurant in North Bay Village collapsed into the bay while patrons were watching the NBA playoffs. The rebar for the120-foot-long deck, which was due to be recertified, was later found to be rusted. The deck was reconstructed and Shuckers reopened about a year after the accident.

In March 2018, a section of the nearly completed 320-foot-long pedestrian bridge of Florida International University fell onto oncoming traffic, crushing eight cars. Five people – a construction worker and five motorists – were killed, and another 10 people were injured. FIGG Bridge Engineers, which designed the bridge, and its contractor, Munilla Construction Management, or MCM, were blamed for the accident. MCM later paid out $103 million to the victims and the victims’ families. This past May, MCM was awarded a $70 million contract to oversee small construction projects at Miami International Airport.

And in June 2018, a construction worker was critically injured during demolition of the 13-story Marlborough House when the building collapsed; he died 11 days later. AlliedBean Demolition was later fined $12,324 by the Department of Labor for the incident. The mother of the deceased construction worker, Samuel Landis, is reportedly suing AlliedBean Demolition, AA Demolition Management, and the developer and general contractor of the project.

It could take months before the cause of the Surfside disaster is known, but when it is, it may very well result in a reassessment of that 40-year certification process, stricter building codes in the wake of sea-level rise and years of litigation.