See the implosion of a Brazilian hospital before it happens.

During the recent Demolition Awards in Amsterdam, we had the pleasure of spending some time in the company of Fabio Bruno Pinto, explosive demolition specialist with Fábio Bruno Construções in Brazil.

Although he was in Europe primarily to talk about a previous contract – namely the implosion of Rio de Janeiro’s Presidio Helio Gomes prison – he revealed that he was in advanced stages of preparation for an equally impressive, pre-Christmas blast to take down the nearby Hospital Universitário do Fundão

Today, just nine days before he presses the button, Fabio has sent us an exclusive simulation video – produced with DemolitionNews sponsor Applied Science International – showing how the hospital will fall.

If the implosion is even half as impressive as the video simulation, Fabio Bruno Pinto will be an early contender for Eric Kelly’s Explosive Demolition of the Year crown in 2011.

We have thrown open the Forum so you can share your hopes and dreams.

In Lapland at this time of year, Santa and his elves are busily making his list and checking it twice. In the retail world, store owners are thanking the Almighty for some long-awaited income. And, in the world of journalism, every lazy reporter worth his salt is cobbling together a list of “Must Have” items for Christmas 2010.

Well, not only are we lazy, we’re also severely lacking in imagination so, instead of us boring you with what we think you should have for Christmas or look forward to in the New Year, we’re throwing it over to you.

We have set aside an area of the DemolitionNews Forum to allow you to add your own Christmas or New Years wishes. These can be work-related, industry-related, or as personal as you wish (although the first person to say they’re wishing for world peace will be automatically entered for the 2011 Miss World competition).

So please, hop on over to the Forum and let us know what you’d like. You never know; the Santa of the demolition world might just be watching!

JCB JS330 HRD excavator dismantles the Nicolson Institute in Stornaway

A Scottish civil engineering and demolition contractor has bought a JCB JS330 HRD tracked excavator – featuring a high reach demolition rig – to carry out a series of demolition projects in the North of Scotland.

Purchased by W Munro Construction, based in Alness in the Scottish Highlands, the first role of the JS330 HRD, supplied by dealer Scot JCB, was to dismantle the Nicolson Institute in Stornaway – the largest school in the Western Isles of Scotland.

The company was appointed by lead contractor FMP Construction Joint Venture to handle the demolition aspect of the of the multi-million pound Western Isles Schools Project which will see the introduction of five brand new schools in the region.

From here, the 21-metre JS330 HRD – which comprises a three-fold boom fitted to a specially adapted demolition specification JCB excavator – will move to Inverness, to dismantle the Carlton Bingo building in preparation for a new development by Premier Inn.

DemolitionNews.com welcomes two new sponsors to its growing roster.

DemolitionNews.com is delighted to welcome into the fold a pair of shiny new sponsors: The Health & Safety People and European Attachments Group Ltd. You can see their ads to the right or just click on the links above).

It is always nice to welcome new sponsors but it’s even better when those sponsors are such dynamic and enthusiastic supporters of this industry of ours.

So if you get a spare minute, please hit the links provided and see what these two companies are all about. And if you’re interested in joining them as a sponsor here on DemolitionNews.com, please click here to find out how.

Leading Scottish contractor takes community liaison to new levels.

Former demolition company of the year Safedem is helping to keep local residents informed of progress on its Coll Place contract with a new contract-specific website. The contract – the 16th tower block to be imploded in partnership with the Glasgow Housing Association since 2005 – will be tracked throughout asbestos removal, sof strip and pre-blast preparations on the new website as part of Safedem’s ongoing community liaison initiative.

“We have developed these project specific websites in response to numerous inquiries about our projects (notably the explosives projects) from not only local residents but students undertaking projects and countless media firms looking at demolition documentaries and information on the demolition process,” explains managing director William Sinclair. “The objective is to explain the operations and to keep the local community up to date with site progress and key dates. We are also looking at the possibility of airing the blowdown live over the internet in order to emphasise the safety message for interested parties to remain clear of the area on blowdown day.”

DemolitionNews is just a day or two away from a major publishing milestone.

It is two years, four months and one day since DemolitionNews.com first threw open its online doors and welcomed the demolition professionals of the world to make use of this online news portal of ours. In the meantime, we have published just under 2,000 blog posts (that’s an average of more than two posts per day, seven days a week, 365 days a year), attracted readers, comment, support, criticism, two threats of legal action and one of physical violence from around the world. And, despite the best efforts of the banks, international Governments and a few disgruntled contractors, we’re still going strong.

Indeed, in the intervening two and a bit years, we have continued to grow, adding a used equipment area, Discussion Forum, Business Directory and Job Board along the way.

As we have mentioned numerous times, the seeds of the idea for DemolitionNews.com – a single news portal featuring demolition news and views regardless of geographic location or association affiliation – came from John Woodward, the new IDE president, who remains a fervent supporter of this site today. We’re grateful to John for his inspiration, support and his continuing role as our public conscience and moral compass.

But, over the past two years or more, we have picked up more than our fair share of contributors, advisers and – dare we say – fans including some of the biggest names in the global demolition business. They know who they are and we are grateful to all of them.

We are grateful, of course, to our growing number of sponsors and advertisers. To be honest, we would probably do it without them as this site has always been more of a passion than a career. But their financial support has helped make this sustainable as well as enjoyable.

And we are even more grateful to you, our loyal and constant readers who have grown in volume in just about every part of the world that can understand our slightly odd form of English. It is interesting to note that, according to our web statistics, we are attracting more readers in an hour today than we were in a week when we first opened our doors.

So, if you’ve been with us since the beginning, we thank you for sticking with us through our highs and lows; and if you’re new to DemolitionNews…you don’t know what you’ve missed.

Australian Entertainment Centre demolition to link city with Northbridge

Demolition of the former Perth Entertainment Centre will begin early in 2011, with the one-time concert venue making way for the long-awaited Perth City Link project.

Planning Minister John Day and Seven Group Holdings (Seven) chief executive officer Peter Gammell today announced that demolition of the Perth Entertainment Centre will begin in early 2011.

Mr Day said the Entertainment Centre, which has been vacant since 2002, sits on an integral area of land within the Perth City Link project which would reconnect the city centre with Northbridge for the first time in more than 100 years.

“The State Government has reached an agreement with Seven that sets timeframes for the demolition and facilitates the land exchange necessary to deliver the Perth City Link project,” he said.

“The Entertainment Centre will begin to be demolished early next year which will enable the State Government to progress bus and rail infrastructure works.

Read more here.

EPA orders Old Forge factory owner to cease asbestos demolition

The owner of an abandoned lampshade factory in Old Forge must cease all demolition work and enact corrective measures in order to halt the release of more asbestos into the air, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday.

The long-defunct factory on Hillcrest Drive has been on the radar of federal and state environmental officials for a slew of violations recently, including improper removal of asbestos materials during demolition and storing harmful waste materials on the property.

“We’re going after all the materials,” said Mark Carmon, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman. “They’re (EPA) after all the asbestos in the building.”

Efforts to reach the property owner, Walter Stocki Jr. of Old Forge, were unsuccessful. Mr. Stocki also must submit a work plan to the federal agency and post warning signs around the building, according to the EPA order.

Read the full story here.

The NFDC’s London & Southern region did itself proud on Saturday night.

Under normal circumstances, even the most demolition-related social event would fail to make the pages of DemolitionNews. However, Saturday night’s National Federation of Demolition Contractors’ London & Southern Counties region Xmas Ball, held at the prestigious Royal Lancaster Hotel in London’s West End, certainly merits a mention.

Organised by L&SC regional chairman Martin Wilson, Nikola Oakey and the team at Lawson Group, the event attracted more than 400 people for what was a great mix of old-style soul music, marching band pomp and ceremony, excellent food and more than a drop or two of alcohol (well, at least those that hadn’t drawn the short straw as nominated driver!)

Through some bizarre quirk of planning, DemolitionNews found itself on a table hosted by NFDC president David Darsey and his lovely wife Sarah, and sat beside the new IDE president John Woodward and his equally lovely wife Jill.

A variety of raffles and charity auctions raised well over £20,000 for Martin Wilson’s nominated charity – Help for Heroes, and ensured that the evening was as generous as it was enjoyable.

So, heartfelt congratulations to Martin Wilson, Nikola Oakey and everyone else involved in the planning and execution of a fabulous night.

Partial implosion marks beginning of major renovation works at Amon Carter Stadium.

A portion of TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium was imploded on Sunday to make way for a massive renovation project.

After a series of explosions at about 8:20 a.m., it took just seconds for the west grandstand of the Fort Worth landmark to fall.

The demolition is part of a $105 million renovation project that will create three-tiered seating, two-dozen suites, a 20,000 square-foot club level, as well as a new press box.

Read more here, click here for an excellent photographic sequence, or view the video below: