Coral Gables Fire Assists In Surfside Building Collapse

At 1:30AM on June 24th, the Champlain Tower South, located at 8777 Collins Avenue in Surfside, collapsed killing at least 4 and leaving 159 unaccounted for.

The Coral Gables Fire Department responded to a Mutual Aid request for assistance to the multi casualty partial building collapse.

Engine 4, Rescue 1 and Battalion 1 (a total of 8 Coral Gables personnel) were dispatched to the scene.

“Initially the Department dispatched a Fire Engine, Rescue vehicle and Chief Officer to the incident. Our units were part of the initial mass casualty incident response involving units from all Fire Departments in Miami-Dade County as well as from Broward County. Currently, our units are on stand by for mutual aid response to the scene or throughout Miami-Dade County,” said Coral Gables Fire Chief Marcos De La Rosa.

Coral Gables Fire Chief Marcos De La Rosa serves as the Florida Fire Chiefs State Emergency Response Regional Coordinator. In that role he is serving as the Liaison between County and the State Fire Department resources.

120 people are accounted for, 37 people have been rescued from the building, 2 have been pulled from the rubble and 2 were taken to the hospital.

Foreign consulates have confirmed that among the missing, are 4 Venezuelan nationals, 3 Uruguayan nationals, 9 Argentinian nationals and 6 Paraguayan nationals who are members of Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez’s family.

How You Can Help

Donations: Several organizations, including the Coral Gables Community Foundation, have joined forces to collect funds to help those affected by this tragedy. Donations can be made online at: https://supportsurfside.org/.

Blood Donation: This Sunday, June 27th, OneBlood will be holding a blood drive at St. Augustine Catholic Church (1400 Miller Road) from 8:30AM to 9:00PM. Appointments are encouraged.

Prayers: In speaking with family of the victims of this tragedy, most ask for one thing, prayers.