General

Industrial accident on Ottawa site kills 45-year old worker. A 45-year-old man was pronounced dead in hospital following an industrial accident at a construction site in downtown Ottawa, police said Monday. Police said they responded to the intersection of Bank and Sparks Streets at approximately 1:45 p.m. PCL Construction issued a statement Monday afternoon saying…Read moreRead more

Affection for an industry that is difficult to love. During the Easter break, I was forced to tear myself away from the two new Boxer puppies that are patrolling Demolition News Towers to attend what was described as a dinner party but which evolved into an inter-industry conversational jousting contest. Following the laws of “birds…Read moreRead more

The fall of an oxygen furnace. Regular readers whose diaries have not been thrown out of kilter by the Easter shenanigans may recall that back in October we featured the explosive demolition of a bucket wheel excavator at Sparrow’s Point. Well thanks to our second favourite demolition videographer in the world (sorry, but we have…Read moreRead more

Explosives cause bridge to twitch and stand. Judging by this video, the excavators had already done the heavy work. So when the engineers moved in to charge the Sand Hill Bridge in Middlebury, they could be forgiven for being a little less than generous with the explosives. However, we’re pretty sure the bridge was expected…Read moreRead more

Man falls to death while dismantling feed mill. The investigation continues into a fatal work accident in Huron county that killed a Gratiot County man. Michael Rempp, 58, was doing contract work at the Cooperative Elevator Company in Ruth, about 75 miles northeast of Saginaw. Rempp was dismantling a feed mill Wednesday when he fell…Read moreRead more

Man vs Machine Easter Egg Scramble. It is that time of year when diets are cast aside like so much dirty laundry in order to celebrate the resurrection of the Son of God via the mass consumption of chocolate (no, we can’t see the connection either). So what better time to pit one brave man…Read moreRead more

NFDC corporate member involved in fatal accident. DemolitionNews reports.

Union decries “wholly avoidable accident”. Commenting on the fatal accident that occurred yesterday in Grosvenor Square, London in which a construction worker died and another worker was injured, Jerry Swain Regional Secretary for UCATT’s London and South East Region said: “This was a terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with the victim’s family at this…Read moreRead more

Health and safety folk, look away now. This video – supposedly featuring demolition circa 1971 – just surfaced on YouTube for no apparent reason. However, it is one of a number of old time demolition videos on offer from the British Pathe new channel. Sadly, the audio is missing but that doesn’t detract from the…Read moreRead more

A final word on the decision to remove the Red Road implosion from the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. Watching 17,000-odd people rush to sign a petition against the inclusion of the Red Road implosion as part of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, I was reminded of an interview by former Oasis front man Noel…Read moreRead more