This article is primarily about what Coco and I did at the Surfside Building Collapse in June of 2021. I was invited 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.
We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tom Savoca a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below. Hi Tom, thanks for joining us today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share? In June 24, 2021, early in the morning the Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, partially collapsed causing almost 100 deaths. Read more about Tom Savoca here…
https://canvasrebel.com/meet-tom-savoca/