The collapse was catastrophic, a portion of the building people called home failed them.
While rescue crews search for survivors among the Surfside condo collapse, engineers search for answers as to why and how this happened.
Joel Figueroa-Vallines is a forensic structural engineer with SEP in Orlando. He’s in Surfside volunteering in the investigation and learning from what went wrong.
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire Firefighters battle a blaze as rescue workers search debris at the 12-story oceanfront condo, Champlain Towers South, Friday, June 25, 2021 in Surfside, Fla. The apartment building partially collapsed on Thursday, June 24. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP) (Al Diaz/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire Rescue workers remove a body from the rubble where a wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami.(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire Search and rescue workers go through rubble at the Champlain Towers South Condo in Surfside, Fla., section of Miami, Friday, June 25, 2021. The apartment building partially collapsed on Thursday. The teams continue to work at the site hoping to detect any sounds coming from survivors. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire A woman reacts near the Champlain Towers South Condo in Surfside, Fla., Friday, June 25, 2021. The apartment building partially collapsed on Thursday, June 24. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP) (David Santiago/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire Two women comfort each other at the Surfside community center where friends and family of those missing following the collapse of a residential building wait for new developments in the search for their loved ones, Friday, June 25, 2021 in Surfside, Fla. (Jose A. Iglesias/Miami Herald via AP) (Jose A Iglesias/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire People watch recovery operations near the site of an oceanfront condo building that partially collapsed in Surfside, Fla., Friday, June 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire People react near the Champlain Towers South Condo in Surfside, Fla., Friday, June 25, 2021. The apartment building partially collapsed on Thursday, June 24. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP) (David Santiago/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire Faydah Bushnaq, of Sterling, Va., center, is hugged by Maria Fernanda Martinez, of Boca Raton, Fla., as they stand outside of a 12-story beachfront condo building which partially collapsed, Friday, June 25, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. Bushnaq is vacationing and stopped to write "Pray for their Souls" in the sand. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire Ariana Hevia, of New Orelans, La., center, stands with Sean Wilt, left, near the 12-story beachfront condo building which partially collapsed, Friday, June 25, 2021, in the Surfside area of Miami. Hevia' s mother Cassandra Statton lives in the building. Search and rescue teams continue to work at the site hoping to detect any sounds coming from survivors. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (Lynne Sladky/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire Rescue workers walk among the rubble where part of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier) (Marta Lavandier/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire A dog of the search and rescue personnel search for survivors through the rubble at the Champlain Towers South Condo in Surfside, Fla., Friday, June 25, 2021. The apartment building partially collapsed on Thursday, June 24. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP) (David Santiago/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire Photos of missing people are posted on a fence near the site of the Champlain Towers South Condo after the building collapsed Friday, June 25, 2021 in Surfside, Fla. The apartment building partially collapsed on Thursday, June 24. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald via AP) (Pedro Portal/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire Leo Soto, who created this memorial with grocery stores donating flowers and candles, pauses in front of photos of some of the missing people that he put on a fence, near the site of an oceanfront condo building that partially collapsed in Surfside, Fla., Friday, June 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire A makeshift memorial bears photos of some of the missing people that hangs from a fence, near the site of an oceanfront condo building that partially collapsed in Surfside, Fla., Friday, June 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire Rescue workers work in the rubble at the Champlain Towers South Condo is seen, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Surfside. The apartment building partially collapsed on Thursday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire In this aerial image search and rescue workers work the site of an oceanfront condo building that partially collapsed, in Surfside, Fla., Friday, June 25, 2021. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava says rescue officials are continuing to search Friday and there's still hope of finding survivors in the rubble more than 24 hours after the building collapsed. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Search for survivors at Surfside condo collapse slowed by fire Rescue personnel work in the rubble at the Champlain Towers South Condo, Friday, June 25, 2021, in Surfside. The seaside condominium building partially collapsed on Thursday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Gerald Herbert/AP)
“There’s no smoking gun,” Figueroa-Vallines said. “And in forensics, we welcome multiple theories.”
Three years ago, an engineering firm said the Champlain Towers South needed more $9 million in major repairs. The condo in Surfside was built in the 1980s, and it was up for its 40-year recertification.
“I think we need to revisit our requirements (and) the frequency of inspections, potentially,” Figueroa-Vallines said.
“If we don’t take care of ourselves, we don’t age very well. So same thing with a building,” he said. If it’s not properly maintained, it doesn’t age very well.”
VIDEO: ‘We’re doing our best’: Orlando district fire chief describes recovery efforts in Surfside
