The condo in Surfside that collapsed two
years ago had a pool deck with a “severe strength
deficiency” and its construction in some areas failed to
meet both building codes and its original design parameters,
federal investigators have found.
Concerns about the
pool deck have surfaced repeatedly since the June 2021
collapse at Champlain Towers South that left 98 people dead,
but the preliminary analysis from a federal team shows the
extent of the problems uncovered so far.
Investigators still have many more months of work ahead
before reaching a conclusion about what caused the failure.
But new documents scheduled for release on Thursday suggest
they have been focusing on a potential failure of the pool
deck that could have triggered the collapse of the mid-rise
residential tower.
Investigators with the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, which is leading the investigation, have
described it as one of the most complex probes ever
undertaken, in part because there was no obvious cause.
Investigators have interviewed witnesses, reviewed
historical records, tested the building’s materials and
produced models of its structural soundness. They have
looked at the original design and construction of the
40-year-old tower as well as all renovations and repairs;
they have also examined the potential effects of corrosion,
ground settlement and vibrations from construction nearby.
Officials say they do not anticipate completing their final
report until May 2025. |
|
A ravaged building with partially collapsed floors
stands next to a partially intact section, with cranes positioned
alongside it.
|
The collapse in the
early morning hours of June 24, 2021, came with little
warning. Some witnesses reported that the pool deck area
fell first, crushing vehicles in the parking garage below,
and structural engineers said a failure there could have
destabilized columns underneath the main part of the
building. A large portion of the tower collapsed into a pile
of rubble within minutes, before many residents were aware
that something was amiss.
In summaries of their
preliminary findings ahead of a hearing Thursday, the
investigators wrote that the pool deck’s design lacked
sufficient strength at and between many of its supporting
columns. The investigators determined that those problems
were severe in many places.
But the pool deck had other problems. The steel
reinforcement inside the concrete slabs of the pool deck was
buried deeper in the concrete than the initial designs.
Planters that were heavier and more extensive than
originally designed had been added to parts of the pool
deck, bringing more weight to an already under-designed
system. Investigators have also been looking at the layers
of sand and paving stones added later to the top of the
deck, and at signs of corrosion in some parts of the steel
reinforcement of the deck.
All those issues, the investigators said, left the structure
with “critically low” margins to protect against failure.
There are signs that the pool deck was showing distress —
cracks in a planter and sagging concrete slabs — well before
the collapse, the investigators wrote.
The investigative team said it was not yet ready to issue
any recommendations but that it planned to consider new
guidance on construction practices, building codes,
document-retention requirements and ways of assessing the
safety of existing buildings. |
|
The Surfside Condo Was Flawed and Failing. Here’s a
Look Inside.
A Times investigation shows how faulty design and
construction could have contributed to the collapse of the building
in South Florida.
|
The building, constructed in 1981, had
many issues that have previously been reported, not only
with the pool deck, but with corroded columns, design errors
and improper steel reinforcement. Three years before the
tragedy, an engineer had warned of “major structural damage”
at the complex, and a multimillion-dollar repair project was
about to get underway when the collapse occurred.
Relatives of the victims, and those who
survived the collapse, reached a $1 billion settlement in
the case last year.
Securitas, a company hired to handle the building’s
security, paid the largest portion of the settlement. The
New York Times reported last year that the building’s
security guard had not been trained in how to activate the
building’s warning system.