Security camera catching the horrific collapse of a building in Surfside on video

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — “This is such a tragic incident. Every engineer whenever you see something like this, it really affects you deeply because this is what we for a living. We keep people safe,” says David Odeh, a principal structural engineer.

Odeh has designed buildings for almost 20 years. In his career, he says he has never seen a structural collapse like this before.

“This is a very, very rare occurrence and one that has engineers very concerned.”

The building was built in the 1980s, not very old by engineering standards.

It got us thinking, how many of our condos along the coast are just as old if not older?

So we did a little digging, and according to our records there are about 40 condos in Jacksonville Beach.

11 of them were built in the 1980s, seven built in the 1970s. The condo Bret lives in, Ocean 14, went up in 1976.

“I definitely feel safe. It’s been good, they’re currently replacing the rebar, so it’s nice that they’re staying ahead of things.”

Odeh says buildings need to be maintained and inspected periodically to look for signs of corrosion, especially in coastal communities.

And this gun wrenching incident in South Florida will be a catalyst to re-examine current building codes.

“I think that you will see discussion of that in the professional community about what a reasonable frequency of evaluation is,” explains Odeh.

Under Florida Building Code, there is no minimum requirement for routine inspections on an existing building that has been occupied, unless repairs have been made.

Most often, routine maintenance and repairs are the responsibility of the owner or person responsible.

Although, there are many condo associations that do routine maintenance inspections every so often.

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