First Responders Honored For Tireless Work At Surfside Condo Collapse Site

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - About 100 first responders were recognized in Miami-Dade on Tuesday for their tireless work during the condo collapse in Surfside.

"On that mountain of rubble, I saw hell on Earth. But I also saw some of the best of what mankind has to offer," said Florida's CFO and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis.

Patronis along with other Miami-Dade officials recognized the men and women who make up Florida Task Forces 1 and 2, the first teams to respond to the condo collapse on June 24, 2021.

"We train and we train all year long, and there's nothing to prepare you to that level," said Miami-Dade Firefighter Frank Garcia.

He and his K9, Zoe, were some of the first to race to the collapse site. Garcia said he received a call around 2 a.m. and was in Surfside an hour later.

"The emotional toll, it's something," he said. "It takes a toll after so much time."

On Tuesday at the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Training Facility in Doral, each member of the two task force teams received a challenge coin. On one side of the coin were the words, 'courage', 'respect', 'unity', and 'integrity'. On the other side, an image of the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South.

"They worked 12 hours shifts, in the Miami summer, they fought Hurricane Elsa, cutting rebar, cutting concrete," Patronis said of the first responders. "At the same time, they were doing this, they were picking up wedding pictures and children's toys. The emotional toll that some of these men and women went through led to some early retirements."

First responders recovered 98 bodies from the rubble of Collins Avenue collapse. It marked the third-largest building collapse in U.S. history.

On Tuesday, Patronis also pushed for more funding for urban search and rescue teams.

"We are also going to make our case to ensure that the Florida legislature sees the importance of funding $10 million in this year's budget," Patronis said.