Evidence collected from the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominiums in Surfside, Fla., has been transferred to the custody of the Miami-Dade Police Department, according to federal investigators looking into the causes of the collapse that killed nearly 100 people in Miami. 2021
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the milestone on November 21, saying the transfer was made possible after it had completed its extensive review, measurement and testing of critical building evidence taken from the place of collapse Research work is still ongoing, with an expected release date of 2026 for the draft report.
Judith Mitrani-Reiser, who led the investigation, says in the announcement that the NIST team was in Surfside within 48 hours of the collapse, and has worked in collaboration with the Miami Police Department -Dade (MDPD) to identify and preserve possible evidence that could explain the collapse.
“Since then, we have carried out extensive testing of concrete slabs, columns and reinforcing steel to understand the condition of the building and the forces acting on it at the time of the tragedy,” he says.
Five days after NIST arrived at the site, it announced it would conduct an investigation under the National Construction Safety Team Act, giving it the authority to investigate the building’s failures and establish probable causes of building failure and recommend specific improvements to codes and practices.
NIST investigations, the announcement notes, are fact-finding efforts, and NIST is not authorized to find fault, liability or negligence through its investigations.
Investigator Glenn Bell says more than 600 pieces of evidence have been secured from the site, and according to the announcement, NIST worked with police to develop a guide for first responders on which building elements would be important to allocate to a potential investigation into the cause. of the collapse
The Miami-Dade Homicide Bureau, Miami-Dade Fire Department and others cooperated with structural specialists and on-site contractors to develop procedures to preserve potential evidence, while remote sensing helped determine where it was located these tests
Immediately after the collapse, the Miami-Dade Homicide Bureau had evidence in custody as part of its investigation into the death. NIST gained access to the evidence, and when it was transferred to NIST custody in January 2022, MDPD also retained access to it.
NIST says the physical evidence in this case is especially important given the lack of video showing the collapse and the inability of investigators to locate as-built drawings for the Champlain South towers.
The research project teams are continuing their work, aiming to complete the technical work in 2025 and publish the draft report in the spring of 2026, a revised date announced in a September update after complications with interviews, access to public records, personnel and complex evidence that added six to seven. months into the schedule.
Another update in March included the conclusion that the condominium’s pool deck failed more than four minutes before the 12-story structure collapsed.
