Resident of collapsed Florida building says he's alive only because girlfriend persuaded him to stay with her By: CNN By Jason Hanna, CNN (CNN) -- Erick de Moura expected to be in his Champlain Towers South condo at the time much of it collapsed. The only reason he wasn't: His girlfriend persuaded him to stay with her. De Moura and his girlfriend, Fernanda Figueiredo, say they believe he is alive because he was not in his unit in the building that collapsed early June 24 in Surfside, Florida. "I was right at her door, about to leave. And for some reason, she just asked me to stay" in her home nearby, de Moura told CNN's John Berman in Surfside on Tuesday morning.