Engineering expert investigates Surfside collapse and works on possible theories

SURFSIDE, Florida – The answers on what caused the fall of the Champlain Sud towers will probably not come for several months, at least.

Crucial clues as to what happened, however, could be a few feet away.

To figure out what happened, the structural engineer hired to examine the collapse examines his sister building, Champlain Towers North, which is still standing.

That person is engineering expert Allyn Kilsheimer, who works for the town of Surfside.

His team are taking samples of concrete cores and using ground-penetrating radar to help determine why the south tower fell.

“We’re looking for a trigger in the south tower,” Kilsheimer said. “The building stayed there for 40 years.

So far, Kilsheimer hasn’t found anything that worries him about the North Tower, which some residents have voluntarily evacuated.

“The north building is similar, but not the same as the south building,” he said.

He will compare the data he collects there with what he finds in the debris pile at the South Tower site to help make a final decision.

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“The north building is a temporary science lab for us,” Kilsheimer said. “Everything we have done so far has been a positive result. “

Kilsheimer said he doesn’t have any theories yet, but is working on some possible causes of the collapse.

“It might not be one trigger, it might be multiple triggers,” he said. “There’s no way to know at this point.”