28 and counting

At the time of this writing, the death toll stands at 28.

Twenty eight lives ended following the collapse of the Miami apartment complex, now infamously known as the Champlain Towers. A watershed moment in Surfside, Florida.

The cause for the accident is still being determined. Right now, all efforts have been on clearing the site, bringing in heavy lifting construction equipment, allowing the clearing of rubble and the continued look for survivors who may be still trapped underneath.

“The heavy equipment is now able to move around the site as needed,” Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said. “The looming threat of that building, the dangerous situation where debris could fall down is now eliminated, so we are operating at 100% capacity. And I am very excited about that and I … sense that the families were too.”

Rescue Team

Humans have marshalled together. The rescue team is comprised of an expatriate teams from Israel. Local teams include Florida Task Force 1, which consists of Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue firefighters and three other task force teams from the state.

Who To Blame?

I, the writer for Dennis Boatworks (and narrator of this here moment) wish to pin the blame on Shoddy Workmanship.

I don’t care to know who benefitted from the poor workmanship of the Champlain Towers. But I do. 

That’s right, I said it, “Shoddy Workmanship.” Whether the contractor did it, or the boss who hired him, or the unpaid worker who was never properly taught to mix concrete, the reason for the collapse is shoddy workmanship.

And so as the dust still clears, and bodies are still being recovered from the rubble, I, human being, demand an explanation. Many are still missing; ‘Why are they missing?’ ‘Was the building up to code?’ ‘Was it built to sustain that many people?’ ‘What happened?’ ‘Who did what that incited the building to fall?’ ‘What was the straw that broke the camel’s back?’ If a building was a construction, then who stood the most to gain from its being erected? Which teams benefitted from cutting the most corners?’

In real estate, the contractor blames the foreman, the foreman blames the workers, and the workers blame the material makers. The material makers blame the rising cost of raw goods, and the raw good suppliers cut their product with the cheap crap from China (pardon my French, but remember the 1990’s {Chinese dry wall}), and we, the American people of South Florida who paid our rent this month can’t go to sleep because we’re wondering who benefitted from cutting all those corners. And we wonder, (I wonder), “will my building be next?”

So when I blame “shoddy workmanship” I do so to take the sting out of the moment. Because the job can be better. The job can always be better.  If the person before you didn’t do their part of the job, say something. Because we’re building structures here people – and I don’t care if you’re building using brick, concrete, code, paint, text, music, or manure – but build with your tool and build with it well, because people’s lives are at stake here! If you see something, say something. “It’s amazing how much can get done when you don’t care who gets the credit.” 

Good News: Humanity Still Helps

Call it a PR stunt. Call it “use of excess capacity” but Royal Caribbean Group has chosen to donate space in the form of lodging, rooms and amenities, along with food for the people displaced in the accident as well as extending the help to first responders and search and rescue teams.

More on this story at Fox

“This incredible act of kindness and generosity from our friends at Royal Caribbean is deeply appreciated by our entire community,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said according to WTVJ-TV. “Over the past nine days, our first responders have been working under dangerous, stressful conditions to move our search and rescue mission forward through so many unprecedented challenges.” – Fox News

For that we are thankful.

No Shoddy Workmanship here folks!

If you’re a boat owner and you reside in Palm Beach, Boca, Fort Lauderdale, or North Miami, our expert carpentry team can help you with any project. Our shop is located in Oakland Park, Florida. We service South Florida marinas with yacht carpentry and boat carpentry services. Our team comprises of master woodworkers and millworkers who work in our wood shop, on spec, on time, and on target – to deliver high quality custom furniture for the maritime industry. No Shoddy Workmanship here folks!

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