Surfside Working Group recommends mandatory re-inspection timelines for high-rise buildings

It’s been four months since a 12-story condo building in surfside collapsed, leaving 98 people dead.

On June 24, Champlain Towers South collapsed in a matter of seconds. The condo needed costly repairs, yet there are no statewide inspection laws or building code that requires structural and safety re-inspections for aging high-rises.

A new report from state building professionals calls for mandatory building inspections so another tragedy doesn’t happen.

"It's our fear if that system is allowed to continue, that we're going to see another building fall and it'll happen sooner than later," said Allen Douglas, executive director of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida.

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Days after the collapse in surfside, Allen Douglas helped spearhead the creation of the Surfside Working Group, a coalition of seven Florida engineering and building professional associations.

Their goal was to come up with comprehensive changes that will keep people safe.

"We think we found a very cost-effective way to look at the buildings out there and identify those that are problematic and could result in injuries or loss of life," Douglas said.

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The nine-page report was released late last week.

The recommendation is for all Florida buildings that are greater than 2,000-square-feet and exceed 10 occupants to have mandatory structural inspections. That recertification would happen after 30 years, with follow-ups every 10. Or after 20 years with re-inspections every seven if the building is closer to saltwater.

"If the building is dangerous at that moment, that it be on the first page of the report to the building official so that so that they know. It then becomes the responsibility of the building official to make sure the repairs are done," Douglas said.

A man stands next to flowers and pictures of some of the missing from the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building at the makeshift memorial for the victims of the building collapse in Surfside, Florida, U.S., on July 02, 20

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The report is now in the hands of state lawmakers. They’re not obligated to act on it, but the working group is hopeful.

"We know we've got people living and working in buildings around the state that have stood there for decades and have not been properly maintained and have not been inspected for a long time," Douglas said.

The end goal is for the recommendations to be included in the Florida building code when the next version is released in 2023.