2 years since Surfside Condo Collapse: Victim's families and first responders reflect
SURFSIDE, Fla. - Mike Noriega says June 24, 2021, will forever feel like a bad dream he never woke up from.
"As we walked up, we just saw that my grandmother's side of the building was completely demolished, and I fell to my knees in that moment," Noriega recalled.
His "Chema' as he called her, was 92-year-old Hilda Noriega. She was the oldest of the 98 people killed when the Champlain Towers South building collapsed, and the 12th person to be identified six days into search efforts.
It's been two years since a condo collapsed in Surfside.
On the first night after the collapse, in the mountains of rubble, the Noriega's stumbled upon old pictures of Hilda with her late husband and their infant son, and a birthday card that friends from her prayer group sent two weeks earlier.
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At first, it gave them a glimmer of hope. But, on the sixth day of search efforts, crews found Hilda's body, in bed, clutching her rosary beads.
The rosary beads were returned to the Noriegas.
Mike says his grandmother was a devout catholic and that all three items recovered, are each a symbol of what she lived for...faith, family and friendships.
"The birthday card symbolized friendships, the picture symbolized family, and those rosaries symbolized her faith," Noriega said. "It was so peaceful for me in that moment."
Rosary beads were found in the rubble. Noriega's grandmother was clutching her beads when she died.
With the collapse happening after 1 a.m., a majority of victims were asleep at the time, and several bodies were found just like Hilda's.
Captain Andrew Capeletti and his team from Hillsborough Fire Rescue were one of hundreds of rescue teams from across Florida and around the globe, who rushed to the site to help search the rubble.
RELATED: Surfside police release video showing officers responding moments after Florida condo collapse
"You start digging and digging, and you find a mattress it kind of gave you a chill...like oh boy, we're in a bedroom, and we're about to find something," Capeletti shared.
They worked in 24-hour shifts for 8 days before returning home and still take time to reflect on what they saw, and the emotions they felt.
"It still gives me chills thinking about it," Capelleti recalled. "It's something that just sticks with you. It's a career once in a lifetime event for most people."
Noriega called his 92-year-old grandmother "Chema'.
Meanwhile, as the enormity of the loss sunk in for Mike Noriega, he said speaking with other victim's families was a huge part of his healing process.
He's now reflecting on the profound impact this experience has had on his life, and the lives of others in his new book "Uncollapsible Soul."
In it, he details the healing journeys of several Surfside families while also helping readers navigate their own, through a series of steps he took himself.
"Through this book I feel like I've been able to turn my pain into purpose," Noriega said.
The book is set to be released this weekend to mark the two-year anniversary of the tragedy.