Cape Coral firefighters remember Surfside condo collapse one year later

Two Cape Coral firefighters were part of the special team that spent days combing through a massive pile of concrete rubble at the site of the Surfside condo collapse. One year after the disaster, they recall the experience.

When the condominium collapse happened, members of Urban Search and Rescue Task Force Six jumped into action, including first responders from all over Southwest Florida. USAR teams are specially trained to respond to all kinds of disasters, from water rescues to building collapses, but what Zair Gonzalez and Matthew Marshall most remember about the days after Champlain Towers South came crumbling down was trying to bring closure to the families of the victims.

Gonzalez and Marshall were two of the Cape Coral firefighters sent to Surfside one year ago to look for any possible survivors. Marshall, who has since retired from the Cape Coral Fire Department, was the department’s battalion chief and was an assistant leader for Task Force Six. Gonzalez is still with the department, a firefighter and paramedic who handles logistics.

Gonzalez says the memories of those days will never fade. As terrible as the situation was, he says he is glad he could provide some closure to the families of the victims.

“It was a tough environment to be in, especially because half the building remained sort of intact,” Gonzalez said. “As far as the causes of it, we were very confused or very busy. But we knew it was a very dangerous situation; we’re putting ourselves at risk, in essence, just because of the unknown factors, like, ‘What stops that stuff in this building from coming down,’ you know?”

Gonzalez worked 12-hour shifts for seven straight days trying to help in any way he could. He says the memories of those days at Surfside are something he will pass on to other firefighters.

“Some of the tactics, some of the experiences that came into play were passed down to some of the members that didn’t have the chance to go down to Surfside,” Gonzalez said. “The wealth of knowledge that some of the members are bringing back is tremendous, from communication and organization to all the technical aspects that surrounded this scene, you know, they brought it back and they’re just passing it on.”

Gonzalez says he doesn’t spend much time reflecting on his experience at Surfside, but he hopes their efforts out there brought some closure to the families.