Surfside

Colonel Golan Vach, head of a unit of the Israel Defense Forces that specializes in search and rescue operations, had never seen a disaster zone like the crumbled condo building in Surfside, Florida, in his more than 20 years of military experience.

Colonel Vach's team, the National Rescue Unit, arrived in Miami early on Sunday, three days after Champlain Tower South partially collapsed without warning while people slept early on June 24, 2021. Once at the site, they found a massive heap of fragmented concrete and mangled metal, with children's toys and other personal belongings strewn about. In it, they hoped to find and rescue dozens of missing people in the rubble. "It's one of the most difficult and complicated situations that I've ever seen," Colonel Vach, who has commanded his unit for four years, said upon arrival to the site.

Joining forces with the hundreds of American first responders and a team of Mexican rescuers, the Israelis have spent every waking hour either sifting through the four-story pile of debris or meeting with the families of the missing, with small breaks for sleep. Several families had expressed hope the Israeli team, renowned for skills honed during rescue operations at buildings damaged by warfare, would join the frantic search for survivors.

To promptly prepare for the operation, Colonel Vach said the teams studied the structure of Champlain Tower South while still in Israel and built 3D models of the 40-year-old high-rise. The team then carefully replicated the manner in which the tower appeared to have collapsed, aiming to understand how to excavate the site with the highest probability of finding survivors. Colonel Vach's team consulted with the families to get the best idea of where their relatives might have been within their apartments at the time the building collapsed. The purpose of this intelligence is to get the first responders to understand exactly where the digging needs to take place. Once they know where they are on the site, the crews penetrated meters of concrete in an effort to reach the bedrooms and search for possible cavities where survivors may have found a measure of protection.

The book recounts conversations with family members awaiting word about their loved ones. The IDF delegation was committed to being transparent with them as the possibility of finding victims alive grew slimmer with every hour that passed. Disaster response is a whole community effort and FEMA worked very closely with Colonel Vach's IDF delegation. The American and Israeli units worked side by side and created a tremendous bond that is sure to last a lifetime due to respect and perseverance during this disaster.