Edinburgh schoolchildren compete to demolish three housing blocks.

A safety poster competition has been organised by the city council, with the winner getting to push the demolition button when the flats come down. The three blocks in Gracemount – Gala, Soutra and Fala Courts – are due to be demolished by Coleman & Co on Sunday October 25th.

“It will be good to talk to the schools and getting the children interested in demolition and recycling, whilst at the same time making them aware of how they or their friends can get hurt if they see sites as a playground,” says Coleman’s James Howard.

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$3 billion earmarked for defence spending, with some of the cash destined for the demolition sector.

Defence Professionals reports that multiple contractors have been awarded a $3,000,000,000 contract for environmental requirements that include completion of a conceptual design, construction, implementation, demolition, repair and operation and maintenance of installed systems prior to delivery to the government.

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Investigations into alleged Philippines demolition gang continue.

A lawyer denied yesterday any involvement in the activities of the so-called “demolition gang,” whose members are being accused of swindling their victims of millions of pesos on the pretext of demolishing old structures.

Lawyer Vicente Millora admitted knowing one of the suspects, Alfredo Ramos, but said he has nothing to do with Ramos’ alleged crimes.

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Finmac has appointed Jaakko Lipsanen as head of business development.

Finmac, the Finnish contender for the Brokk remote controlled demolition machine crown, has appointed Jaakko Lipsanen to head up its business development operations.

On a personal note, we’re delighted to see our old friend Jaakko resurface in the industry. With more than 20 years hydraulic hammer experience gained with Rammer – where he was general manager – he’s a man who knows demolition and should prove to be a great addition to the ambitious Finmac team.

Video captures final moments of a chimney felled by a big push from an even bigger excavator.

Our thanks to John Woodward at C&D Consultancy for this exclusive video.

We spent much of yesterday talking to newspaper reporters. Then this happens.

It could have been so good. One of our precious (and, as it transpired, largely inaccurate) stories picked up by Britain’s most widely read newspapers.; the name demolitionnews on the lips of the three million plus readers of The Sun newspaper across the land; the untold riches from increased site traffic and advertising revenues that would surely follow; and the parties with the Page 3 girls.

Sadly, like the implosion of the two chimneys in Kirby Muxloe that started the whole sorry episode, it wasn’t to be. Despite taking endless, considered and well-crafted (you’ll have to take our word for it) quotes on the subject, all The Sun could manage was this.

Our thanks to John Woodward at C&D Consultancy for this exclusive video:

Mountain Bell building in Arizona brought down in successful implosion.

Earlier today, crews from Advanced Explosives Demolition successfully brought down the former Mountain Bell building in midtown Phoenix. And the spectacular implosion was captured by Fox News.

Update on our earlier update on the failed Kirby Muxloe implosions.

Earlier today, we incorrectly reported that the Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond had overseen the failed implosions at Kirby Muxloe in Leicestershire.

Well, it turns out that it wasn’t the only fail of the day. For while BBC cameras were in attendance, “The Hamster” failed to show as expected. We then compounded matters by reporting (wrongly) that he had been there.

However, on this occasion, things may have turned out for the best. The Sun, Britain’s most widely-read newspaper and an almost permanent fixture in the back pocket of demolition workers up and down the country, picked up on the story and is currently planning to give Demolition News a mention in tomorrow’s edition.

According to C&D Consultancy’s John Woodward, the failed implosions were caused by a faulty batch of detonators; and the pair of chimneys were felled instead by AR Demolition’s high reach Volvo excavator that had been on standby for just such an eventuality.

Great video showing implosions that marked the end of steel production in Newcastle.

Planned demolition of two Leicestershire chimneys ended in double disappointment today.

Sod’s Law dictates that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. However, what few people realise is that this well-known law comes with a sub-clause that dictates that if the TV cameras are present, then failure is not just a possibility but a guaranteed certainty.

Sadly, the team at AR Demolition have today become all-too-familiar with this little known clause as BBC Top Gear presenter Richard “The Hamster” Hammond presided over a twin chimney implosion in Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire that failed not once but twice.

With hindsight, the presence of the accident-prone Hamster was never going to bode well. This, after all, is a man who managed to crash a car whilst driving in a straight line on a deserted runway.

At the time of writing, the demolition crew is working to find out exactly what went wrong. We will bring you more news as it happens.