The cleared land where the 12-story Champlain Towers South apartment building once collapsed in Surfside, Fla. A total of 98 people died when the building partially collapsed on June 24, 2021.
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The cleared land where the 12-story Champlain Towers South apartment building once collapsed in Surfside, Fla. A total of 98 people died when the building partially collapsed on June 24, 2021.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
A grand jury of Miami-Dade County on Wednesday issued a series of recommendations on the safety of apartments across Florida after an in-depth examination of the deadly Surfside collapse earlier this year.
The report occurred nearly six months after the 12-story Champlain Towers South collapsed, killing 98 people. While the 43-page document does not draw conclusions about what caused this particular disaster, it does point to the urgent need for sweeping reforms to avert future tragedies.
Excavators dig through the rubble of Champlain Towers South on July 13, 2021.
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Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
Excavators dig through the rubble of Champlain Towers South on July 13, 2021.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
“After listening to numerous building experts, the review board, and the individuals involved, Grand Jury came to a powerful conclusion: save lives, not just save money,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle say in one statement.
“I hope this report provides an effective roadmap for doing that,” she added.
Among the “serious lessons” that have been learned, the report suggests:
- The Florida Condominium Act “is in dire need of revision.”
- The 40-year recertification requirements should be reduced to 10 to 15 years.
- Statewide condominium boards must become more involved and accountable in protecting lives and preserving structures.
- The Florida Department of Business and Regulation, which oversees condominium associations, needs to be restructured to be able to more fully oversee condominium management.
In the case of the tragedy at Champlain Towers South, the 40-year-old building was being re-certified at the time of its collapse. The grand jury concluded that over the lifetime of the building, “steps could and should have been taken in a timely manner to ensure the structural integrity of the building.”
“The death of 98 people is too high a price,” said Fernandez Rundle.
About 3.5 million people live in apartments across Florida, according to the state attorney’s office. However, the only region that has begun to reform its surveillance regulations is South Florida.
The report raised red flags about the dangers of construction in Florida’s marine environment, noting the impact of salt air on concrete. Investigators discovered evidence of extensive corrosion and overcrowded concrete reinforcement after the Surfside collapse.
“If we don’t build safely, if we don’t immediately recommend improvements to policies and procedures … we predict that the Chaplain Tower South Condominium building won’t be the building.” The last partially collapsed building in our community,” the report states.
“All Floridians, everywhere in the state, deserve to know that their condominiums are, and will remain, safe,” said Fernandez Rundle.
