National Institute of Standards and Technology
National Construction Safety Team Investigative of the June 24, 2021
Champlain Towers South (CTS) Condominium Collapse in Surfside, FL
OMB Control #0693-0078
Expiration Date: 07/31/2025
[PENDING OMB APPROVAL]
A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with an information collection subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 unless the information collection has a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number. The approved OMB Control Number for this information collection is 0693-0078. Without this approval, we could not conduct this information collection. Public reporting for this information collection is estimated to be approximately 2 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection. All responses to this information collection are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden to Attn: Judith Mitrani-Reiser, Team Lead for the NIST Champlain Towers South NCST Investigation, Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, E-mail: judith.mitrani-reiser@nist.gov or Phone: 301-975-0684.
Do you have any questions for us? May we proceed with the interview?
Let’s start with your background
Please tell us about your professional background.
Please also tell us about your professional experiences in the 1970s and 1980s.
We would like to have a discussion with you on the history of the Town of Surfside. We understand it may be difficult to remember the details. It is perfectly fine to say, “I don’t recall” or “I don’t know” to questions we will be asking. Please keep this in mind.
Are you aware of the early beginnings of the Town of Surfside. (e.g., mid-1930s when the Town was incorporated)? If so, please tell us about these early beginnings.
Do you recall or are you aware of development that was taking place in the Town of Surfside in the 1970s? If so, please describe.
Do you recall or are you aware of mid-rise/high-rise development that was taking place in the Town of Surfside in the late 1970s and early 1980s? If so, please tell us about such development.
Do you recall or are you aware of the Town of Surfside’s policies toward mid-rise/high-rise development in the late 1970s and early 1980s? If so, please describe these policies.
Do you recall or are you aware of the public debate about mid-rise/high-rise development in the Town of Surfside in the late 1970s and early 1980s?
If YES, continue.
If NO, skip to Question 2.1.6.
Please share the specific concerns raised about such development at that time.
What were the specific concerns raised regarding such development?
Which groups raised these concerns?
To your knowledge, how were these concerns addressed at the time?
Do you recall or are you aware of how the Town of Surfside implemented Dade County’s Moratorium in the 1970s and 1980s barring new construction until necessary water and sewer infrastructure improvements were put in place? If so, please explain.
Do you recall or are you aware of the Town of Surfside’s policies toward zoning variances in late 1970s and early 1980s? If so, please tell us about these policies.
Do you recall or are you aware of how common it was for a developer to receive a zoning variance at the time? If so, please tell us about it.
Do you recall or are you aware of the Town of Surfside’s process for issuing building permits in late 1970s and early 1980s? If so, please describe this process.
Do you recall or are you aware of the process for on-site building inspections in the Town of Surfside and nearby areas in late 1970s and early 1980s? If so, please explain this process.
Do you recall or are you aware of what documentation developers were required to submit to the Town of Surfside to obtain building permits in late 1970s and early 1980s? If so, please tell us about such documentation.
Do you recall or are you aware of who reviewed building permit requests at the time (e.g., Town Engineer, Town Manager)? If so, please tell us about it.
Do you recall or are you aware of what personnel resources the Town of Surfside had for assessing permit requests for mid-rise buildings ? If so, please tell us about these personnel resources and about their expertise.
Do you have any knowledge of construction quality in high rise buildings in the late 1970s and early 1980s in Surfside/South Florida [the interviewer gives the relevant option here]?
If YES, continue.
If NO, skip to Question 2.1.15.
Please tell us what you remember about the construction quality in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In your opinion, what were the factors that contributed to such construction quality at that time?
How can we access records (e.g., documents, photos, videos) related to the history of the Town of Surfside that we just talked about [the interviewer goes through the list of events discussed in this section]? We would appreciate any guidance you might be able to provide.
Is there anything that we have not yet discussed that you think is important for us to know about the history of the Town of Surfside?
We now would like to ask a few questions about the government’s response to the collapse.
We would like to hear your perspectives on the government’s response to the collapse of the CTS building.
What aspects of the government’s response to the collapse of the CTS building worked well?
What would be your recommendations to enhance the government’s response to a building failure of a similar nature?
In your opinion, how can the government prevent future calamities such as the one witnessed in Surfside?
What are your recommendations for the federal government?
What are your suggestions for state governments?
What are your suggestions for local governments?
Is there anything else that you think we should study further? Or any other questions we should be focusing on?
Is there anything we have not yet discussed but it is important for us to know about?
We welcome submissions of data including photos, video and other documentation associated with collapse of CTS. Do you have any additional photos, videos, or other information (e.g., field notes) that you would like to share with us?
Do you have ___________about the following [the interviewer may ask about specific materials]?
If YES, continue.
If NO, wrap up the interview.
Would you be able to share these with us? Y/N
Those are all the questions we have. The valuable information you provided will help our engineers and scientists improve building safety. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us.
After the formal interview ends, you may remember new details or notice new things about the issues we discussed today. Please feel free to reach out back to us to share that information. We are eager to continue this conversation with you.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Ganapati, Nazife E. (Assoc) |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2025-07-15 |