As the first harrowing 911 calls came screaming in, the catastrophe at Champlain Towers in Surfside, Florida, drew the hurried response of first responders desperate to save lives. Almost immediately, engineering experts, regulators, police and prosecutors began the process of protecting the scene, preserving evidence and staging to determine the root cause of this catastrophe even as rescue operations were unrelenting. Before the day was out, the first lawsuit was also filed.