Roy Exum
On Sunday the stark reality of the Miami condominium collapse began to sink in for Kevin Speigel.
His vivacious wife is believed to be among the 140-plus persons who are unaccounted for after a 12-story building partially collapsed on Thursday.
“This has been the worst day for me … At first it was all so surreal, like a bad dream that defies explanation, but the reality has crept in.
“A car accident we can understand, or an over-crowded deck falling, but this is so over the top it is hard to grasp,” the grief-ridden father of three said as he and his family are forced to … well, wait by the hour for any news they can gather.
He said, "We are a very close family … Judy made that her life’s priority, so we are where we should be – together.”
Kevin, of course, was the top administrator at Chattanoga’s Erlanger Hospital for nearly 10 years until two years ago. Today he is the CEO of a group of hospitals in California and New England, and was in California early Thursday morning when word of the tragedy reached him. “Flying to Miami was a blur and even when I got here I still could hardly believe what I was going through," he said during a telephone conversation yesterday.
“Today it has really hit me. We just heard they found two more bodies just a while ago and at 3 o’clock there is a large prayer service … prayer is all we can do,” he said while being deluged with phone calls, notes and messages. “The outpouring from Chattanooga has been fantastic and yesterday June Scobey Rogers spoke at a service. She was at her all-time best and so many families have said how much her words meant at this, the worst time in our lives.”
June, a close friend of the Speigels when they lived in Chattanooga, watched 35 years ago when the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded moments after its launch. Her husband, Dick, was the Commander onboard the rocket and in the years since she has remarried. Her current husband Don Rogers is a hero as well.
Rescuers, assisted by expert emergency teams from Israel and Mexico, as well as parts of the United States, have dug a 125-foot long, 40-feet deep trench at the base of the site to expedite removal of the victims. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava Mayor has ordered a 30-day audit of all residential buildings over five stories that are over 40 years old. There are claims the collapsed building had signs indicating structural problems.
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Sunday he walked the site of the building collapse that morning and has seen "substantial progress" since Saturday afternoon, pointing out that despite complications caused by heavy rains overnight "that hasn’t stopped the waves and waves of rescue people here on site all the way from Mexico and even Israel to pull our residents out of this rubble."
“We do not have a resource problem … we have a luck problem. We need to get luckier right now,” as the seconds and minutes have turned into hours and days.
Kevin Speigel said “They (the owners) of the condo had just installed a new fire sprinkler system but how do you prepare a warning for something in a career in medicine I have never seen before. There was 9/11 and our hearts are still with the families who lost loved ones there, but all we can do is watch as the workers peel away one layer and the next. Every second is critical and there is smoke and tough conditions the rescuers must overcome.
“I must say the First Responders are incredible,” the grateful husband told Fox News. “But there is nothing we can do except watch and pray.”
The city of Surfside has authorized a voluntary removal of families from the Champlain Towers North – the adjacent “sister building” to the collapsed South Tower.
FROM MIAMI’S CHANNEL 10: Hope is waning though as authorities began asking those family members for DNA samples in order to help identify the bodies and remains pulled from the rubble. They are also asking for unique characteristics of those who are missing, such as tattoos, scars or articles of clothing they may have been wearing.
The requests have led to even more tension among the families and the officials who are providing updates, though there has been little in that area over the past day.
A heated exchange between Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez and the family members inside the reunification center was recorded by one of those inside.
“We know you’re hurting, we’re hurting as well,” Ramirez said in the video. “We want to make sure we bring closure to you. That’s what we want, and we’re working hard out there.
“Like I see that you’re hurting, our people are hurting as well. We’re standing here with you. We’re a family right now. This tragedy has put us together. Please understand that. We have to get through this together.”
Kevin Speigel