Miami fire officials warn residents to stay indoors because of 'smoky conditions' after condo collapse
- Fire officials are asking Miami residents to stay indoors after the 12-story condo collapse.
- The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said on Twitter that the collapse has led to "smoky conditions."
- At least four people are dead because of the collapse, which happened early Thursday.
Miami-Dade fire officials are urging residents to stay indoors after a condominium collapse, warning of harmful "smoky conditions."
"If you live near the area of the #SurfsideBuildingCollapse, you may be experiencing smoky conditions, which can affect those with respiratory conditions," the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said in a tweet late Friday night.
The fire department advises Miami residents to stay indoors and keep all windows and doors shut while running their air conditioning units.
At least four people are dead after the collapse in Surfside on Thursday, with more than 150 unaccounted for or missing. President Joe Biden on Friday signed an emergency declaration for Florida, giving authority to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief. Dozens of fire and rescue units, including FEMA, have since responded to the scene.
Officials on Friday said they remained hopeful that they'll rescue survivors from the rubble.
"We will continue search and rescue because we still have hope that we will find people alive," Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press conference.
"That is exactly why we are continuing," Cava continued. "That is why we are using our dogs and our sonar and our cameras, everything possible to seek places where there may still be people to be found."
Following the collapse, information emerged questioning the infrastructure and integrity of the 12-story building.
The building in 2018 showed signs of "major structural damage," and an engineering consultant found evidence of "abundant" cracking and fragmentation in the building's columns and beams, according to an inspection report.
The son of a woman who is now missing told CNN she heard creaking noises the day before the collapse.
Pablo Rodriguez said his mom called him the day before and said "she had woken up around 3 [or] 4 in the morning and had heard like some creaking noises. They were loud enough to wake her."
And a 2020 study found that the land around the building had shown signs of sinking decades ago.