EPC issues Kirby Muxloe denial…

Supplier of detonators blamed for failed implosion issue denial statement.

When a chimney failed to implode at Kirby Muxloe in Leicestershire just over a week ago, the finger of blame pointed quickly at what was said to be a faulty batch of detonators.

However, having received numerous phone calls disputing this explanation, Demolition News can exclusively reveal that the supplier of the detonators in question has now issued a statement to many of its largest UK customers, denying that their products were to blame.

Issued by EPC’s technical service manager Rob Farnfield, the statement says:

There appears to be a rumour going around the demolition industry suggesting that the problems with the Kirby Muxlow demolition were due to a bad batch of detonators supplied by EPC-UK (formerly Exchem) and I would like to make the following observations.

  1. EPC-UK provided explosives and detonators for the Kirby Muxlow project.
  2. The problems with the demolition are still under investigation by the demolition contractor, with help from EPC-UK, and it would not be professional to speculate on causes until this process is completed.
  3. At this stage we do not suspect that there is a issue with a batch of detonators as no problems have been reported from the firing of several thousand of the same products over the last few weeks.

EPC-UK is committed to providing the best possible products and technical support to customers and is proud of its relationship with the demolition industry. When problems do occur it is important for the problems to be fully investigated in a proper manner with input from all parties so that such problems can be avoided in the future.

At the time of writing, Demolition News is trying to contact EPC for further comment.

Another day, another asbestos indictment…

Three Sisingalli Inc. employees the latest to fall foul of asbestos laws.

A Monroe County grand jury has indicted three demolition workers allegedly caught disposing of hazardous waste at the High Acres Landfill in Perinton, New York.

Herbert Babcock, Ronald Caceci and Michael Cenzi are charged with felony endangering public health, safety or environment. They’re accused of hauling asbestos and other materials to the landfill from demolitions of city properties.

The men were arrested last spring amid a major investigation of their employer, Sinisgalli, Incorporated.

Read the full story here.

Guest Blog – Stay Warm, Stay Safe…

Mike Johnson’s look at what the well-dressed operative will be wearing this winter.

There was a time, in the not too distant past, when in demolition circles the term workwear meant a tatty pair of jeans topped with an ill-fitting t-shirt and a lumberjack-style shirt that could stand up under its own weight coupled with the ubiquitous tatty trainer shoes.

But as demolition contractors have evolved to take site welfare and worker health more seriously, so the working wardrobe of the average demolition operative has changed to encompass designer-style safety glasses or goggles, high visibility t-shirts, and safety gloves made from high-tech “breathable” fabrics and Goretex safety boots for example.

But never is the need for proper workwear and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) more apparent than in the dark days and early nights of a British winter. And in an enlightened age where it’s not uncommon for demolition contractors to provide sun screen for their site workers during the three and a half days that make up the British summer, the time has come for many contractors and their staff to take a closer look at some of the latest winter workwear products on offer. Of course, one of the key challenges faced when selecting work wear is that it needs to fit correctly and that it allows the wearer to move freely. This becomes more problematic during winter months when workers are inclined to layer items of clothing on top of each other to keep the bitter wind at bay.

The first line in defence against the cold is usually a high visibility jacket, and there is a huge array available, many of them with detachable linings that can be worn as a light jacket during the summer and then upgraded to fend off the rain and snow in winter.

However, as anyone that has worn a high vis’ jacket for any length of time will testify, they soon become hot and uncomfortable. At this point, they are often discarded by the wearer, freeing his movement but immediately contravening site safety regulations.

To address this, we have developed a range of high visibility sweatshirts and even hoodies. Not only do these ensure that operatives remain visible and safe if they remove their coat, they’re also extremely popular with younger and less experienced operatives. Many view the hoodies in particular as vaguely trendy and are, therefore, more inclined to wear them.

The range of work wear clothing available may seem overwhelming but with good advice from a trustworthy supplier you and your staff will be safe warm and dry.

It is interesting to note that many of these items share many characteristics with the clothing worn by athletes and footballer players, allowing the skin to “breathe” and drawing perspiration away from the body. This is particularly important during the winter months as it helps reduce the risk of rapid cooling of the body, a key contributor to the common cold and, therefore, absence through sickness. A good base layer garment is essential such as the old favourite long johns.

The choices of base layer thermal garments are now truly bewildering with all the major manufacturers providing them.

Another common problem during the winter months is the inclination to wear a woollen or thermal hat under a hard hat. This does a great job of keeping the wearer’s head and face warm but it can make the hard hat ill-fitting and, therefore, less safe. But there is a wide range of winter liners available that are warm enough to keep the chill wind out, but thin enough to ensure that hard hats fit snugly and safely.

Gloves, or more accurately high visibility gloves, are also becoming an increasingly common site on UK demolition sites. Not only do they offer an additional level of visibility and protection, they’re also easy to spot in the mud and are far less likely to get lost and require replacement.

They may cost slightly more, but the chances are you’ll need less of them!

To conclude, I would offer the following advice:

• Discuss the importance of workwear and PPE as part of your company or site’s Toolbox Talk
• In addition to checking that they’re wearing hard hats and high vis’ check to ensure that your operatives workwear is suitable for the job AND the climate
• Ensure that operatives have ready access to spare or replacement workwear and PPE, and bear in mind that some contractors, sites or industries have specific requirements on colour of workwear and PPE.
• Stay warm, be seen and stay safe.

Mike Johnson works for Active Workwear. Full details fo the company’s extensive range of workwear can be found on their website.

And if you would like to know more about taking care of your equipment during the cold winter months, please click here.

Baltimore bid saga rages on…

Documents reveal $2.3 million of demolition contracts awarded without public bidding.

The Baltimore Development Corporation, the city’s quasi-public development arm, over the past year and a half awarded six contracts totaling $2.3 million to demolish buildings without publicly advertising the work, documents have revealed.

According to The Baltimore Sun, each of the six contracts was worth more than $25,000, the amount that is supposed to trigger public notice when work is requested by city agencies. Instead, the BDC asked companies for their prices, and, in the case of two contracts – including one for $1.5 million – did not award the work to the firm offering the lowest price.

This is a continuation of a story that we first covered here. Further details of the latest revelations can be found here.

Great Rio de Janeiro implosion video…

Check out this video of a seven storey structure implosion in Rio de Janeiro.

It’s always great when we receive notifications of new video content. But somehow it’s even more exciting if it comes from a part of the world that we haven’t covered previously.

So we’re very excited to bring you this brand new video all the way from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, courtesy of reader Fabio Pinto and Fabio Bruno Construcoes. Not only is this from a suitably far-flung location, it also provides a great behind-the-scenes look at the charging of the building prior to implosion.

Many thanks for sending this over Fabio.

Cleveland victory restarts inn contract…

Another on, off and on again demolition story has happy outcome for the contractor.

Cleveland has scored a legal victory in its delayed effort to tear down the old Howard Johnson Motor Inn building, City Council members announced this afternoon.

In a statement, Councilwoman Shari Cloud, said: “I am thrilled that the court has finally decided to allow the city to move forward with the demolition of the Howard Johnson building, which has been a community eyesore for years,” Cloud said. “The building had stood vacant for a long time and caused a perpetual safety issue. We can now move forward and clear the way for positive development.”

Read the full story here.

Vintage explosives video…

1941 implosion of North Tower of London’s Crystal Palace as part of British war effort.

Our thanks to Robert Kullinski for drawing or attention to this.

Trailer for new demolition TV series…

Exclusive first glimpse of trailer for new demolition TV series.

Eric and Lisa Kelly, the people behind Advanced Explosive Demolition, are to be featured in a new TV series that looks at both their life and their work as demolition professionals.

And we have just been directed to this exclusive video trailer:

Nebraska grant funds available…

Nebraska announces availability of demolition grant funding.

Applications for the Western Nebraska Housing Opportunities Demolition grant funds are now available at the offices of Twin Cities Development and the City of Scottsbluff Planning and Building offices.

According to Rawnda Pierce, director of TCD, the first round of applications will be accepted through Oct. 23. All applications will be ranked and scored to determine the applicant’s eligibility. If there are additional funds available following the first round, Pierce said, a second round of funding awards will run from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15.

Pierce said about $350,000 will be available and that a portion of the total grant will be used for the demolition of the Hergert Milling structure on Avenue B and the old City Limits Motel on East Overland.

Read the full story here.

King for a day, fool for a lifetime…

Demolition triumphs are quickly forgotten, but mistakes live on in infamy.

This morning, along with the usual offers of Viagra and penis enlargements, my email inbox contained a message that filled my heart with a mix of dread and loathing. The reason for my fear was due to the fact that the message was marked “Demolition Fail” and I knew, without even opening the accompanying video attachment, that it was the latest example of the Turkish building performing a forward roll that we featured on Demolition News some months ago.

Now I have just checked my deleted items and I can tell you that I have been sent the same piece of video (or links to it) no less than 37 times. I have also just done a quick recap of my Twitter feed and I find that this same video has been picked up by my search engine more than 100 times. And on YouTube, one version of the same video has been viewed more than 120,000 times.

You see, in the days of print media, a story of this type generally lasted about as long as that edition of the newspaper: Today’s news is tomorrow’s fish and chip wrapper, as the UK adage would have it.

But in the world of digital media, just about everything we do is added to the constantly-evolving cyberspace landscape and will remain there long after we’ve all hung up our hard hats and safety boots.

Which is why I firmly believe that demolition contractors need to think twice before speaking to or involving the non-trade press in any way, shape or form?

Want to know why? Let me give you some examples.

We recently followed the run-up to the implosion of a chimney in Leicestershire here in the UK. The opportunity to “press the button” had been auctioned off to raise money for charity, the local newspapers and radio and TV channels had been informed, and – seemingly best of all – one of the presenters from the TV programme Top Gear was expected to be on hand.

Come the appointed hour when the button was pressed and, thanks apparently to some faulty detonators, nothing happened.

Now to the average “blaster”, such an eventuality was not entirely without precedent, which is why the contractor in question had a high reach excavator on hand to subsequently push the chimney over.

However, to the national press, this was news indeed. Not only did the chimney fail to fall but the Top Gear presenter had failed to show up as well. As a result, the contractor in question – a highly professional and well-trained outfit – made perhaps their one and only appearance in a national newspaper linked forever to a job that had gone a little awry.

But there’s worse. Let’s try a little role-play.

Imagine you had overseen the explosive demolition of a bridge that had sent a foot long shard of copper shrapnel through the roof of a nearby house, and several houses have had windows broken by flying debris, even though they had apparently been assured that they were in a safe zone.

At this point, a local news reporter sticks a microphone under your nose and asks: “Well, how do you think it went?” What do you say?
a. “No comment”
b. “We’re still assessing things and will be able to provide you with a full statement just as soon as our investigations are complete.”
c. “I think we hit a home run here. I am tickled to death.”

If you answered a, the chances are that you have been watching too many TV movies and believe that the term “no comment” will be construed as a declaration of innocence.

If you answered b, you’ve probably had some media training and have just afforded yourself some thinking time in which to address the concerns and complaints of local residents whilst preparing a formal statement.

If you answered c, you should almost certainly have all your media liaison privileges revoked with immediate effect, regardless of your position within your company or your stature in the industry.

Sounds like a joke, right? Well, in truth, I have written this, in part, for comedic effect. But the fact is that this is based upon a real event and real quotes from a contract in Pittsburgh earlier this year. And here we are, five months later, and those quotes live on.

And, sadly, it is not just the single contractor that is tarnished with this but the entire demolition industry.

In the UK, the National Federation of Demolition Contractors now requires each of its members to have a site audited for best practice as a prerequisite of membership, and the Institute of Demolition Engineers offers a formal qualification for its members. In the US, the National Demolition Association runs its Demolition Academy sessions, again to promote best practice. And even the European Demolition Association, traditionally a forum for cross-border politics, has attempted to lobby the European Parliament to promote the cause of demolition professionalism.

Yet all that can be undermined in an instant.

Demolition, particularly explosive demolition, may be an art but it is an imprecise science. An unforeseen defect in a structure’s composition CAN result in debris flying further than calculations and previous experience might suggest; a change in wind direction CAN deposit plumes of dust in precisely the area we were trying to avoid.

How you handle such eventualities on the day and, moreover, how you handle them with the press will dictate whether you’re seen as a king for a day or a fool for a lifetime.