1974 Miami DEA building collapse: Difference between revisions
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Firemen worked through the night to rescue survivors and to recover bodies from the wreckage. Evidence and records related to pending cases were safely locked in vaults beneath the rubble.<ref name="NYT 1974/08/07"></ref> Rescue operations had to proceed slowly because of the danger of a partially-destroyed wall that threatened to collapse.<ref name="WP">{{cite news |title=6 Die as Roof Falls: Cars Drop Into Federal Office in Miami |access-date=8 July 2021 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/146147650/22D30EE99309474BPQ/1 |agency=The Washington Post |publisher=ProQuest Historical Newspapers |date=6 Aug 1974 |ref=A3}}</ref> |
Firemen worked through the night to rescue survivors and to recover bodies from the wreckage. Evidence and records related to pending cases were safely locked in vaults beneath the rubble.<ref name="NYT 1974/08/07"></ref> Rescue operations had to proceed slowly because of the danger of a partially-destroyed wall that threatened to collapse.<ref name="WP">{{cite news |title=6 Die as Roof Falls: Cars Drop Into Federal Office in Miami |access-date=8 July 2021 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/146147650/22D30EE99309474BPQ/1 |agency=The Washington Post |publisher=ProQuest Historical Newspapers |date=6 Aug 1974 |ref=A3}}</ref> |
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Initial speculation centered on the cars parked on the roof of the structure overloading the concrete slap they were parked on and causing the collapse, with the number of cars at first being reported as 80 and then 57.<ref name="NYT 1974/08/06"></ref><ref name="NYT 1974/08/07"></ref> Former Miami Herald reporter Edna Buchanan wrote in her book ''The Corpse Had |
Initial speculation centered on the cars parked on the roof of the structure overloading the concrete slap they were parked on and causing the collapse, with the number of cars at first being reported as 80 and then 57.<ref name="NYT 1974/08/06"></ref><ref name="NYT 1974/08/07"></ref> Former Miami Herald reporter Edna Buchanan wrote in her book ''The Corpse Had a Familiar Face'' that the Miami DEA had recently started parking cars seized from drug dealers in the rooftop garage.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Buchanan |first1=Edna |title=The Corpse Had a Familiar Face: Covering Miami, America's Hottest Beat |date=1987 |publisher=Random House |page=77 |pages=275}}</ref> However, later investigations found that the supporting steel structure of the building had been eroded and weakened by resurfacing of the parking lot combined with salt in the sand.<ref name="DEA"></ref> |
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The collapse led to Miami-Dade County's mandatory 40-year recertification program for buildings with the hope of avoiding another such collapse.<ref name="Miami Herald">[https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252469213.html]</ref> Examining the six tons of rubble left by the collapse, Miami-Dade County engineer John Pistorino concluded that concrete buildings in South Florida have particular risks, as salt in the aggregate rock used in concrete can corrode reinforcing steel due to the area's humid climate and salty ocean air. This corrosion can expand and crack the concrete, causing it to lose its structural capacity.<ref name="WUSF"></ref> |
The collapse led to Miami-Dade County's mandatory 40-year recertification program for buildings with the hope of avoiding another such collapse.<ref name="Miami Herald">[https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252469213.html]</ref> Examining the six tons of rubble left by the collapse, Miami-Dade County engineer John Pistorino concluded that concrete buildings in South Florida have particular risks, as salt in the aggregate rock used in concrete can corrode reinforcing steel due to the area's humid climate and salty ocean air. This corrosion can expand and crack the concrete, causing it to lose its structural capacity.<ref name="WUSF">[https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/local-state/2021-06-25/after-a-dea-building-collapsed-in-1974-engineer-created-recertification-program-to-prevent-future-disasters]</ref> |
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On August 5, 1974, at 10:24 am EDT,[1] a Federal office building housing the DEA Miami Field Division office in downtown Miami, Florida, United States, collapsed after the roof caved in, causing the deaths of seven DEA employees and injuries to 15 others.[2]
Initial speculation centered on a theory that the cars parked on a six-inch-thick slab of concrete on the roof were too heavy, causing the collapse. Investigations later concluded that resurfacing of the parking lot combined with salt in the sand had eroded the supporting steel structure of the building, weakening it catastrophically.[1]
Background
The building had been constructed in 1925, making it 49 years old at the time of the collapse. It had undergone a full engineering inspection in 1968 before the DEA office was cleared to move into the building.[1]
In 1974, between 125 and 150 people worked in the building,[1] although not all were on site when the building collapsed.[3]
Collapse
The collapse occurred at 10:24 am EDT on August 5, 1974 when the roof caved in. People in the building thought an explosion or earthquake had occurred.[1] Seven people were confirmed killed due to the collapse, and 15 were injured and treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital.[3][2]
List of fatalities:
- Special Agent Nickolas Fragos (30)[4]
- Mary Keehan (27), Secretary to the Acting Regional Director[5]
- Special Agent Charles Mann (31)[6]
- Anna Y. Mounger (24), Secretary[7]
- Anna Pope (54), Fiscal Assistant[8]
- Martha D. Skeels (50), Supervisory Clerk-Typist[9]
- Mary P. Sullivan (56), Clerk-Typist[10]
Aftermath
Firemen worked through the night to rescue survivors and to recover bodies from the wreckage. Evidence and records related to pending cases were safely locked in vaults beneath the rubble.[2] Rescue operations had to proceed slowly because of the danger of a partially-destroyed wall that threatened to collapse.[11]
Initial speculation centered on the cars parked on the roof of the structure overloading the concrete slap they were parked on and causing the collapse, with the number of cars at first being reported as 80 and then 57.[3][2] Former Miami Herald reporter Edna Buchanan wrote in her book The Corpse Had a Familiar Face that the Miami DEA had recently started parking cars seized from drug dealers in the rooftop garage.[12] However, later investigations found that the supporting steel structure of the building had been eroded and weakened by resurfacing of the parking lot combined with salt in the sand.[1]
The collapse led to Miami-Dade County's mandatory 40-year recertification program for buildings with the hope of avoiding another such collapse.[13] Examining the six tons of rubble left by the collapse, Miami-Dade County engineer John Pistorino concluded that concrete buildings in South Florida have particular risks, as salt in the aggregate rock used in concrete can corrode reinforcing steel due to the area's humid climate and salty ocean air. This corrosion can expand and crack the concrete, causing it to lose its structural capacity.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d e f [1]
- ^ a b c d [2]
- ^ a b c [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ [7]
- ^ [8]
- ^ [9]
- ^ [10]
- ^ "6 Die as Roof Falls: Cars Drop Into Federal Office in Miami". ProQuest Historical Newspapers. The Washington Post. 6 Aug 1974. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ Buchanan, Edna (1987). The Corpse Had a Familiar Face: Covering Miami, America's Hottest Beat. Random House. p. 77.
{{cite book}}: More than one of|pages=and|page=specified (help) - ^ [11]
- ^ [12]