Surfside’s building official was on the roof of the collapsed condominium mere 14 hours before the accident, the official said at the town’s Friday emergency meeting.
Jim McGuinness was inspecting the replacement of roof anchors, which are used to secure window cleaners when attached to their equipment. McGuiness claimed that he had seen “no inordinate amount of equipment or materials” that could have resulted in the collapse, The Palm Beach Post reported.
Surfside condo collapse: Building official was on roof 14 hours before structure collapsed https://t.co/rkggtEwYsh
— The Palm Beach Post (@pbpost) June 26, 2021
“There was no inordinate amount of equipment or materials or anything on that roof that caught my building official’s eye that would make it alarming as to this place collapsing,” he reportedly said.
The official did not name any suspected causes of the collapse, saying only that it is currently “under investigation,” according to The Palm Beach Post. (RELATED: Video Purportedly Shows Debris Falling In Condo Moments Before Building Collapse)
The Friday meeting also saw the town commission say that it is considering ways of ensuring the safety of other high-rise buildings. The proposed strategy will likely entail inspection of buildings, including Champlain Towers North, the sister tower of the collapsed condo, which was also built in 1981, according to The New York Post.
“It would be imprudent not to take some types of steps to address that issue with the sister building,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said during the meeting, The Palm Beach Post reported.
As of Saturday, four people were confirmed dead and 159 remained unaccounted for, with searches for survivors ongoing, according to ABC News.