And The Walls Came Tumbling Down

*To take the corresponding CDE quiz, visit the College of Emergency Dispatch.*

If you’ve ever watched a building collapse, it’s a sobering sight. Thousands upon thousands of tons of the world’s strongest building materials crumble and plummet to the ground as if they were no sturdier than a sheet of paper. When the Hard Rock Hotel New Orleans (Louisiana, USA) partially collapsed in 2019, a bystander took a video where one of the corners of the top floor appeared to sag in on itself before breaking apart and falling onto the street below.¹ There are several videos of the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South, a condominium in Surfside, Florida (USA), in 2021 where destruction was so swift and so complete, it looked as though the sturdy concrete walls and reinforcing steel were vaporized into puffs of dust.²

In the time leading up to both events, there were reports of potentially dangerous structural flaws that could result in massive loss of money and life. These concerns went unaddressed, and the Hard Rock Hotel collapse resulted in three deaths and 18 nonfatal injuries;³ the Surfside condo collapse resulted in 98 deaths with 11 non-fatal injuries.⁴

Which Fire Priority Dispatch System^™ (FPDS^®) Chief Complaint Protocol would be best to use if something similar happens in your area? Where in the Protocol should you go if someone calls in with reports of a building showing signs of possible collapse or instability? Have there been any updates to the FPDS to reflect the reality of such enormous tragedies?

Protocol 54: Confined Space/ Structure or Trench Collapse/ Sinkhole/Landslide/Mudslide
The first change to this Chief Complaint you probably spotted immediately was the lengthening of its name. What was “Confined Space/Structure Collapse” in FPDS v7 has added situations such as trench collapses, sinkholes, and mudslides to its toolkit in FPDS v8. There are now 16 Key Questions where there used to be eight, and there are noticeably more Determinant Codes and Descriptors. This reflects the reality that these types of events are dynamic and varied, as well as the fact that the Academy is striving to make the FPDS as flexible as possible.

One of the new Determinant Descriptors allows for selecting a “non-building structure,” which is defined as “[a] structure not designed or utilized for consistent habitation or occupancy but that may have people in or on it for various reasons.” This includes amusement park rides, scaffolding, and water towers, among others.

The new Determinant Codes clearly define what type of incident the responders will be heading to, and it also gives the entrapment status of any people who might be involved. For example, 54-B-1 is for a LARGE building collapse, but no one is trapped, and while 54-C-1 is also for a LARGE building collapse, it is unconfirmed as to whether or not anyone is trapped inside.

“Sometimes people will say, ‘There are always people in there this time of day,’ which could mean a thousand different things,” said Michael Thompson, IAED Fire Council of Standards Chair.

In cases where the presence of people in a collapsed (or partially collapsed) building is unconfirmed, it’s always better to err on the side of caution and send the resources necessary for rescue and extraction.

While this protocol had suffixes in previous versions, there are now suffixes that define any injuries that may have occurred. If someone is known to be trapped, that should be considered injured because responders will want to give them a medical examination after pulling them from the wreckage. The X suffix denotes that there is a single injured person, and the Y suffix denotes that there are multiple.

In the event the person calling to report the collapse is trapped themselves, Protocol 54 now has questions and instructions specifically for trapped first-party callers that are similar to those provided for first-party callers trapped in a structure fire.

Protocol 84: Structural Instability/ Problems (Investigation)
As demonstrated by both the Hard Rock Hotel and Surfside condo collapses, structures rarely give way without any warning. A day and a half before the collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium, a contractor took photos in the building that showed “standing water, cracking concrete, and severely corroded rebar” next to the pool.⁵ And mere minutes before the collapse, a bystander took a video of water pouring into the parking garage from “above, near its entrance.”⁶

Before the 2025 spring release update to the FPDS, your agency probably would have triaged the report of a building showing signs of collapse with Protocol 53: Service Call, making sure to let the responders know exactly what happened and identify concerns. But now there’s a protocol made especially for these types of situations, and the Key Questions are designed to gather critical information to make certain that the responders arrive with the right tools.

Protocol 84: Structural Instability/ Problems (Investigation) is only available through ProQA^® (not in the cardsets) and can be enabled or disabled using the Admin Utility function. It has some similarities to Protocol 54, especially with regard to the definition of “Non-Building Structure.”

There are Sub-Chief Complaints you can turn to when the caller makes reports of a building leaning; one that has deformations or cracks; one that’s showing elements that are actively falling, fallen, or about to fall; one that’s making noises (like creaking or groaning); or, as in the case of the Champlain Towers South, one with significant or unexpected water intrusion/leaking into the building.

If the caller expresses concerns of a different—but still potentially dangerous— nature, there is also an option for that! It’s called “Building/Structure in NEWLY UNSAFE LOCATION (erosion, etc.)” and will be defined for your specific agency by your local chief, but it could include things like the building being on land that has recently had erosion, rising water, or shifting ground.

There are also suffixes you can add to any Determinant Code to let the responders know if the building in question is occupied and/or if there are any injuries.

New Rules
So when should you use Protocol 54, and when would Protocol 84 be the most optimal Chief Complaint Selection?

Gary Galasso, IAED Fire Council of Standards Chair, has a short and sweet informal axiom of his own: “Protocol 84 is for situations where you think the building is going to collapse, and 54 is for after a building has collapsed.”

One of the rules on this new protocol says it in slightly more words: “For reports of a building or structure that has perceived or apparent instability problems that include pieces falling or about to fall, odd noises, cracks, significant unexpected water intrusion affecting the building, or other problems, use Protocol 84.”

The primary goal of utilizing Protocol 54: Confined Space/Structure or Trench Collapse/Sinkhole/Landslide/Mudslide is to rescue anyone who may be stuck in the detritus of the event and secure the area so that nothing else comes crashing down. The goal of utilizing Protocol 84: Structural Instability/Problems (Investigation) is to try to evaluate and prevent any potential collapses, as well as evacuating anyone who might be in there.

Conclusion
If you haven’t already, both Galasso and Thompson strongly recommend you activate Protocol 84: Structural Instability/ Problems (Investigation) in your agency to most accurately handle reports of a building showing signs of collapse, rather than using Protocol 53: Service Call.

If you’re someone who learns by doing, engage your coworkers in some role-play to practice situations that require either of these crucial protocols. When the time comes to take a call about a structure collapse in your area, you’ll be glad you did.

Sources
1. WWLTV. “Never before seen video of the Hard Rock collapse.” YouTube. 2021; Sept. 29. youtube.com/watch?v=jJ0tNa3rL6Y (accessed Nov. 10, 2025).

2. ABC7. “Video shows moment of condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida | ABC 7.” YouTube. 2021; June 24. youtube.com/watch?v=7KNwMSuwQ8w (accessed Nov. 10, 2025).

3. Cramer M. “10 Months After New Orleans Hotel Collapse, Third Body Is Recovered.” New York Times. 2020; Aug. 18. nytimes.com/2020/08/18/us/hard-rock-new-orleans-collapse.html (accessed Nov. 10, 2025).

4. Staff. “Remembering those who died in the Champlain Towers condo collapse in Surfside, Florida.” The Palm Beach Post. 2021; June 28. palmbeachpost.com/in-depth/news/2021/06/28/surfside-miami-florida-building-collapse-victims-who-died-obituaries/5365626001 (accessed Nov. 10, 2025).

5. Blaskey S., Leibowitz A. “Two days before condo collapse, a pool contractor photographed this damage in garage.” Miami Herald. 2022; Jan. 25. miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252421658.html (accessed Nov. 10, 2025).

6. “VIDEO: Tourist records water pouring from Florida condo, rubble moments before collapse.” ABC7 Chicago. 2021; June 29. abc7chicago.com/post/florida-collapse-video-miami-condo-tiktokbefore-collpase-champlain-tower-south/10847025 (accessed Nov. 10, 2025).