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(CNN) -
The Surfside community is eager to learn what caused the Miami condo building to collapse, which killed at least 97 people.
However, a structural engineer said the investigation will not reach its full potential until search teams have finished their work.
The site is currently under the control of the Miami-Dade Police Department and was classified as a crime scene after the June 24 collapse, Allyn Kilsheimer, a structural engineer hired by the city, told CNN.
In total, 95 of the 97 recovered victims have been identified so far.
Searching the site of the collapse
Miami-Dade County said last week that it will only report the number of victims that have been identified going forward.
"Out of respect for the families who are still waiting and to make sure we are reporting the most accurate numbers possible," they explained.
Officials promised to continue the search until all loved ones are found.
And as families and the community mourn the victims, some residents worry that whatever caused the collapse could also happen to their building, Kilsheimer said.
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The first night he was on the scene, Kilsheimer, who also investigated the aftermath of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, said he had about 20 or 30 theories of possible triggers.
It has since removed some, but added five or six more, he said, and will not be able to narrow them down as the search continues.
"Until [the search teams] do their job, we can't go and take samples of materials and test them to understand what were the various components of the building that collapsed," Kilsheimer told CNN reporter Ana Cabrera.
Requests for access to the collapse site
This week, Florida State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle acknowledged "multiple requests from engineers and attorneys" to gain site access to the collapse site.
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"Engineers from the federal agency National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were dispatched to Surfside with the authority of Congress to collect evidence and determine how and why Champlain South Tower collapsed. NIST is the investigative agency responsible for investigating collapses of buildings like the World Trade Center, in the same way that the NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] investigates air crashes, "Rundle said in a statement.
Apartment owners in the Surfside building faced appraisals of $ 15 million in repairs
"We cannot forget that the scene and all related materials are still under active investigation, preservation and examination and, accordingly, the police are in charge of the scene," Rundle said.
"I understand that once NIST, the Miami-Dade Fire Department, and the Miami-Dade Police Departments determine that it is safe and appropriate for others to gain access to the site, they will be allowed to do so according to guidelines established by the agencies, "Rundle said.
"We are almost done"
Search teams have been working around the clock, beyond brief weather and safety delays related to dangerous and unstable conditions at the collapse site.
As that work continues, investigators are trying to determine the number of fatalities.
On Saturday, authorities identified another person who died in the landslide.
The body of Theresa Velasquez, 36, was recovered from the rubble on July 8, according to Miami-Dade Police.
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Police identified two more victims on Friday.
Rescuers recovered the bodies of Brad Cohen, 51, and Maria Popa, 79, on July 7 and 9, respectively.
Workers have already removed at least 22 million pounds of debris and concrete from the collapse zone, according to Miami-Dade County.
"At the original site of the collapse, we are almost at the bottom," Miami-Dade Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta told CNN on Thursday.
"Does that mean we are almost done with the search? No. Until we clean up the entire site and find no more human remains, we are not done."
"We're almost done," Zabaleta added.
Travis Caldwell, Rosa Flores, Rebekah Riess, Leyla Santiago, Claudia Dominguez, and Tina Burnside contributed to this report.
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