On Thursday, June 24, 2021, at approximately 1:22 a.m. EDT, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, United States, partially collapsed. Ninety-eight people died. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfside_condominium_collapse
Days after the event I travelled to Surfside with Coco the City of Margate, FL Therapy Dog to offer comfort to the 1st responders actively working the scene.
Coco and I were invited to the Surfside Building Collapse in June of 2021 by the Coral Springs Fire Dept. Peer Support group. Since the location was in Dade and I am in Broward County the request went through the Coral Springs FD, to the Margate FD to the Margate Police Dept. After getting the correct permissions I headed down to help however we could. Upon arrival it was easier to get near the collapse then I expected. I was directed into the adjacent building to get my credentials. It took a few minutes but we were in. Once we were in we focused on the 1st responders. We did not interact with family members or anyone personally involved with the collapse. We only interacted with first responders, primarily the search and rescue teams. This was a lot easier than having to deal with people who lost loved ones. Even as I write this a year later I can’t imagine being there with the pain and grief they were going through in the first week. On our second day we were requested to visit the Miami Dade Crime Scene Unit. They had a small air conditioned portable on the beach just East of the collapse. Most of the day there was good, we had fun with the personnel and did our best to lift their spirits. At one point there was remains to be identified (one of the main roles of the crime scene unit) and when they returned from that, the mood was much more somber and depressing. I am not sure what they found, but I know a few had a hard time with it. I wish we could have done more.
Here is an online article – https://canvasrebel.com/meet-tom-savoca/
Here is a news video documentary that goes into the days immediately after the collapse – https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/jim-defede-surfside-documentaries/
