This was in Alabama. We did an auto parts store a mile or two away from this site. There are so many things wrong with the operation, luckily the operator wasn't killed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-slDDFNdx8 Let the discussion begin.
Not gonna say much other than " What a dumb ass".
My thoughts exactly Gramps.
Wowzers! That guy better enjoy every breath he takes for the rest of his life! Not knowing how something like that would be demoed, I will assume that wasn't the correct way? Or was it just not an operator with enough experience doing it I wonder....
In a wide open area like that, seems like a single stick of dynamite would have be far easier, and it would have spared Komatsu excavator. But I guess "hold my beer and watch this!" makes a better video. :beatsme
Operator is just lucky those trouble making government safety people made it a law to have a safe cab on that machine! Then again if there was not that cab the gene pool would be a little better off today. I hope the insurance company sees that video and tells them where they can shove the claim forms when they submit the claim.
Kind of legitimizes Ron White's schtick.....
A You said it all Ken. Can't add anything but, do you think they will weld on it to fix it?
Agree . And government people hired this guy to do a job . He should appreciate there efforts to protect him from harm .
That cab sure did its job
In the comments it says they'd tried to shoot it twice already. I think that's a pretty safe assumption...
I read an article in a farm magizine a few years ago about a one man show that took down smoke stacks and silos by himself using a few hand held power tools. He would cut a vertical section out a number of feet high, block it up with wood dunnage and then take a section out on each side of the blocked one blocking them with dunnage as he went. In essence he made a big notch in the tower using different woods with different burning rates. He them started his dunnage on fire and as it burned it fell over like falling a tree with a notch. It was pretty cool and he was safely a long way away when it went over.
Fred Dibnah was that mans name OIH. He has some very neat videos on utube.
Fred was the first person I though of while watching the video.:cool2 He was a man that knew demolition and how to bring structures down - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L1WOnR2KBY
This Video of an idiot set loose from a Nut House does damage to the Demolition Industry, this would never happen in the U.K. as the excavator driver would be taken back to the Mental Hospital for on-going treatment, the thing that is a surprise to me is the crowds letting this happen in front of them, the only way this was going to end up is with the big bit falling towards the bit missing, the driver never needs to have children to carry his DNA further, it is sad to see things like this happen, lucky for the driver he lived to tell the tail of what an Idiot he is and learn from this that he needs to go wash cars or something? tctractors
fred was also pretty handy doing chimney maintenance as well. I defy anyone to watch this video without getting sweaty palms ........ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W_7uIapoHc
He did everything correct! If not, then how would he get his 15min of fame? People like him keep the world entertaining, just don't be near him when he gets a brain fart.
Freedom has it's risk's tc . Sometimes it don't work as planned . I would have just hired Burt Reynolds & Jan-Michael Vincent to do the demo job . LOL! They timed it just rite at 3:05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLokDBOb7-U Hey .... don't know this guy's background or circumstance on this smoke stack job ? At least he had the fortitude to step up to the plate & take a swing at it . And it came down ! Not as planned but down on the ground and he will move on & learn from it .:thumbsup
td25c, I think Burt and Co would have done a lot better job than the man in the poor Komatsu, in the U.K.if the driver worked for some of the Demolition outfits I know of, he would have a hole behind the Ear as he was pulled out of the cab, this driver needs to seek a new line of work outside anything needing mental input, he might not have been injured but the chance of him injuring someone else is very real. To get insurance to tackle Demolition work in the U.K. is very hard, needing a good track record on lots of jobs before cover would be agreed on high building take down with method statements and full risk study, the bit saying drive up to the chimney and break out the bottom with an Excavator without props would be the No Go thing, this sort of Demolition is near always hand done as its safer, that driver did get the end result "Not as Planned" and no doubt he will learn from it to keep away from anything higher than a Garden Wall. tctractors
I can see that his plan to bring that down with an excavator was well thought out.Not to say that I would have the cayunes to do it myself but based on what he had to work with there you can see that he dislodged the masonry on the left side of the opening with the excavator so that the structure would rotate as it fell and in theory would miss the machine in the process and that is just about what happened.I don't suppose anyone could predict how much it would rotate but it rotated enough for him to live through it.We do this all the time when cutting trees.I grew up cutting with a bucksaw and you have plenty of time to plan and think about it.You would be amazed where you can fell a tree if you plan it right,sometimes even using a push pole wedged into the ground for help.Ron G
They did - http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/11/demolishing_this_historic_alab.html I am not aware of Pheonix Services, never heard of them. The track hoe may have been the city's as they have a 160 set up like that. Don't know that but if it was then it makes a lot of sense.:cool2 My choice of action would've been a high reach with processor. If there wasn't enough height to reach the top, haul in or scrape up enough dirt to build a nice big ramp to access the top and take it down. The site is very large, there is enough area to scrape up plenty of dirt to make a ramp. Take it from the top down at a safe distance, recycle the bricks and be done. Those bricks are worth some $$.
Good point Ron . And a feller also needs to be ready to move out fast if need be . That may have been his mistake . Stack starts to crumble at 0:13 and hits the machine at 0:19 Operator sat still swinging the house instead of tracking out of the way . 4 to 5 seconds of tracking may have made all the difference in the outcome .
The "demolition engineer" (what...!) doesn't exactly appear to be the sharpest knife in the drawer....... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34929970
Lets hope the Demolition Engineer has found something else to do for a living, as he proved near useless at Demo. tctractors
Thanks for posting the story & video Nige . That puts a face & voice to the equation . I may be reading it wrong but sounds like he was pretty worried about leaving the site after the failed blast attempt to take down the stack for safety reasons . He then takes it upon himself to go one on one on the stack with the excavator . No one else was in danger at the time other then the operator . He took care of the problem with what he had available at the time . That's what Men do :cool2 Don't have anything bad to say about him other then his planning of it . LOL! His daughter didn't seem to upset over it .
We would just administer first aid in the event of an accident . No need to escalate any more damage mate .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Dibnah OCR
All I have to say is "here's your sign". Mike
Thank you OCR.I must conclude that the videos I have been watching were made in the '90s maybe?Quite a guy!Ron G
Haven't heard that one for a while but it fits the circumstances perfectly.
It seems to apply to more and more people today. Mike
I don't think any of the plonkers that have driven for us in the past in Africa would have done something so stupid... One heck of an ad for Komatsu cabs though....
Ok, I'll give him credit for that much. But isn't that the whole issue? His "planning" seems to have been limited to I hope it doesn't fall on me, and if it looks like it's going to, I'll turn the machine so it lands on the cab roof, rather than coming through the windshield. I don't want to see anyone killed, or even hurt, but he didn't set a very good example. I hope nobody else gets the notion that they can do anything similarly poorly planned and be reasonably sure they'll walk away from it...
Were they though? Yeah, that crowd was pretty far back, probably the line drawn when they tried to blast it, but then we get videos like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBi-y9gV0CA , and that was just a 3 story wall.
Absolutely digger ! After the failed shooting attempt of this public event I imagine the pressure was on to get it over with . Phifer kicks in to " Captain go's down with the ship mode " and hops in the excavator to finish it of . Don't advise or condone it . But understand the situation . Good lord ! No one else ever made a mistake & then have to wander in harms way to get the job done ? I have . One name you can't call Phifer is a coward . He took care of the mistake and put the stack on the ground . Hoe has a little damage but nothing willie59 cant fix .
Good point ba12348 . This world can be a dangerous place to live in . Gotta keep an eye open all the time for hazards . Wake up & act accordingly to the surroundings would help a lot of folks .
If you spend some time reading MSHA FatalGrams I think you will see how one of the largest number of people involved in them are supervisors/bosses. The next two on the list will often be the "New Guy" and the "Old Timer". I guess I was lucky as I managed to go from the "New Guy" to the "Old Timer" without a lost time accident, a few bandaged up fingers over the 45 years at the quarry but no broken bones.
I imagine there is something to that kshansen . Something go's wrong and Boss steps in to remedy the situation . " You youngsters step out of the way & get back " Seen that many a time .
Safety may have been the culprit that put Phifer in the bad position to begin with . This historic stack was a big deal to the town . Public & media would be at the event . Shots may have been loaded light for that reason ? That was where it went wrong to begin with . Then he has to deal with it . Don't know:beatsme
Prior Planning Prevents **** Poor Performance. That's the 6 "P's". So I would log this as a failure to follow the 6 P's. There are few people in the entire world that could be expected to be seriously injured of killed on the job. They way I see 3 jobs. Firefighter, Law Enforcement Officer and a service member in any branch of the armed services. No on else should expect it. And the above listed jobs takes every precaution to prevent death and serious injury. Things like bullet proof vests and such. While accident can and will happen there is no job a construction worker is doing that is worth dying for. So when you take those big risks to "be a man and get the job done" it isn't making you a man. A man knows he has other responsibilities like to his family and the family comes first. You laid up in the hospital or laid out in the funeral home ISN'T taking care of anything. Rick
You're more than welcome, Ron ... :thumbsup That would be my guess, too... It would certainly have to be footage from before his death... I'm really not sure how that works...? OCR
Did you happen to see this one..? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W_7uIapoHc
How do you come up with these TD? I like movies but certainly cannot remember details like you do. Good job!
To me, the dumbest part of the accident is that there are a many videos of tyros trying to knock down silos, cement block silos, by knocking holes in the bottom, and *the same thing happens* each time... the thing collapses vertically a bit and them falls in the other direction. Also there are many videos of third-world people doing the same and having the same thing happen. It's good to learn from your mistakes; smart people learn from other peoples' mistakes, first. Also, demolition of the old Lindheimer astronomical observatory at Northwestern was similar. Explosives failed, and them the boss figured he had to go at it alone, to finish the job. Very silly. When the first plan fails, that's when it is time to spend the time and money to figure out how to do it correctly.
Forget the sweaty palms; I can't even watch him climb up the ladders, no rope and harness, without getting scared!
How what works? Death? Me neither. You could try taking down a smokestack with an excavator and post your findings...
Good question Oxbow ? Grew up in the 70's & 80's . Always liked the classic car chase films that came out of the 1960's & 70's era . Had awesome stunt's in them that probably won't see anymore due to computer generated stuff , ( Unless someone screws up on a demo job ) Hooper was was more of a tribute film to the stunt guys & gals working behind the scene . Good movie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooper_(film) Westerns also had a lot of wild stunt gags & gigs . This is an interesting site . Scroll down and see Bobby Herron crashing through the barn with the Chevelle on the set of "Convoy " . http://www.westernclippings.com/stuntmen/bobbyherron_stuntmen.shtml These guy's were the real deal . Done a lot of there own stunts & acting . Ben Johnson is another one that comes to mind . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Johnson_(actor) Wild stuff !
I can see the demo guys point of having "bricks hanging" & not really safe to try another set of charges!! im not going to say he did the right thing or wrong just going to say he is very lucky komy has a very strong cab!! & he tested it to the limits!! I have saw several failed attempts at dropping things with charges over the years by some of the best people in the business, IT HAPPENS!! it seems like the only time it gets to youtube or media is if something like this where its high profile demo & something goes wrong. there is a video clip just under the posted link that shows the 2 failed attempts to blow it at the base.. just seems like they would have tried to open it up the side with a few more shots before the base charges went off to weaken it even more.. just my thoughts.
Lol... No, I think I'll just ... :tong OCR...
Hal Needham brought us the great movies - Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper, Stroker Ace and Cannonball Run, all classics. Smokey and the Bandit will ever live in my greatest movies ever.:thumbsup Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason had a great on screen presence. A diablo sandwich and a Dr. Pepper - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN_Ir2gedvQ
Huh... you guys all forget about ? OCR...
Didn't forget. Vanishing Point didn't have Burt Reynolds and Jackie Gleason .:tong
How about Steve McQueen?I can't even remember the movie that he was in with that Mustang.........damn,getting old here.....still.LOL.Ron G
Bullit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vNvc9n1ikI
LOL CM ! I don't see how they kept a strait face during some of those takes . Classic ! Glad you mentioned Hal Needham . I knew partly of his involvement but did not realize how deep it really was . What an incredible individual ! From doing stunt work in the 1950's to starting there own Stunt company ( Stunts Unlimited ) in the early 70's . http://stuntsunlimited.com/history/ He actually doubled for Burt Reynolds in the early 70's . http://stuntsunlimited.com/founder/hal-needhams-six-greatest-stunts/ This was an interesting interview he gave . About an hour long but he go's in depth on stunt work & stories . http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/hal-needham Then Stunts Unlimited would have done the stunt work on " Hooper " like the smoke stack demo & such . All that happened pretty close to you CM . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooper_(film)#Production
Hey OCR, I was just wondering if you picked an Iris Dement song on purpose, since some of our conversations on here get a little demented.
Mitch, you're just gonna have to... "Let the Mystery Be" ... Lol... OCR... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamous_Angel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_DeMent
Yep HWY 78 going towards Jasper. We had relatives that lived in Jasper and traveled that highway a few times a year, I barely remember the bridge before it was demolished but always remember that's where the jump took place.
Believe it or not but I was living in Jasper during that time working for Drummond in Carbon Hill. We used to travel Hwy 78 to Birmingham at least twice a week. The bridge was already demolished when we arrived and IIRC rebuilding was just starting as we left. The major memory is that all traffic had to use the bridge on the eastbound side of 78, it was the westbound bridge that was out. What happened to that bridge that it needed demolishing anyway. I don't recall..?
RonG, you're comparison of felling a tree to dropping this chimney doesn't work. A tree is a solid piece of wood the chimney is brittle and made of many pieces that could(and did) fall apart. I agree that dropping it like a tree would probably be the way to go, but there would be many more variables to take into account.
Take a look at any of Fred Dibnah's chimney-felling videos in the previous posts and he drops them exactly like dropping a tree in regard to determining which way he wants the chimney to fall. The only difference between a chimney and a tree is that once the chimney gets a few degrees of angle it starts to come apart, but that doesn't affect the direction in which it falls one iota, it just makes a neater pile of bricks on the ground.
that was my point Nige, the tree stays together(for the most part) but the chimney is brittle and shatters like a glass. I have logged many trees through the years and even they can be unpredictable.
Small world eh' Nige. I don't remember exactly why it was demolished as I was a youngster, just remember that's the bridge Burt Reynolds jumped. Now that I-22 is almost complete it's much faster to get from Jasper to Birmingham, the connection to I-65 is still under construction. On a side note I had an uncle that sold welding rods to Drummond, they were the family that lived in Jasper. Ya'll might have crossed paths.
That's the nice thing about a chimney, it always drops into less space than the height of the stack because it falls apart on the way down. e.g. a 200ft high chimney would probably drop into a 150ft space as measured from the chimney base. Fred would drop a 20ft diameter chimney stack probably 150+ft high into a 60ft wide space between two buildings. T'aint hard when you know what you're doing - which is where we came in. Not B&D Welding and Machine on Hwy 78 East just outside Jasper by any chance..?
Wikipedia said it was damaged in a wreck.
Yes, Nige, exactly right. Fred Dibnah had 'face cuts' in the chimneys like face cuts in trees; large enough not to close as the chimney fell over. The problem that the excavator guy, and others, have is that when the face that he is pecking at fails, it only has a few 'bricks' worth of clearance. The gap closes, the chimney stops hard-up on the bricks, and the section above shears, and if the whip is right, the chimney falls back the wrong way. It's like watching someone cut down a tree without a face cut; it always 'barber-chairs', only a question of how high and how wild...
Yeah... probably by some guy with an excavator ... :lmao OCR
You got it, Jim... :cool2 No question about it, you got it, Jim ... :thumbsup OCR...
In the U.K. at 1 time in heavy Industrial areas the sky line was full of Smoke Stacks, these have nearly all gone as the use for them faded into the past, so the Falling of them is something that was mastered very well by quite a few people that undertake this sort of work, Fred had 90 Stacks down over his life, but at 1 point all he did was repair them by Banding or Pointing up the cement joints and replacing failed brick work, the Stack down thing being more common in the 1970's through 2000 period, Banded Stacks tended to always fall in a longer distance than their hight, with Re-Pointed Stacks often doing a similar trick, the strength a bit of fresh mortar gave a Chimney is well known, only the old original Stacks would fall in a shorter distance than the hight it stood, at No time ever can I recall a Chimney being Felled via an excavator alone without Props and Burn method used. The Chump in the Komatsu had a good opportunity to make a name for himself as a Skilled Demolition Worker, I wonder if he did any Home Work on the task as Fred and others are well documented with good Video footage on Blasting and Prop and Burn methods, anyhow the "Chump" in a Komatsu is now a common joke Video passed around by the Young to the Old in the U.K. of a very lucky man needing a new Job. tctractors
Well now that's interesting - http://www.waff.com/story/30672060/...falling-on-him-arrested-on-explosives-charges
Yeah CM , sounds like they are painting him in the media as the " Fall guy " ( pun intended ) . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_guy The city is fishing for someone to blame it on to save face . They hired him to start with . Funny thing is ......... If it went off as planned all would be cool and good ....... But it did not so got to go lay blame on somebody ? My Amish buddy got threatened buy a fire marshal over selling propane tanks ........... Amish buddy tells fire marshal to take a hike & go get a real job .:cool2
While we are on the subject of demos.... https://www.facebook.com/eric.carter.357622/posts/1105423809470409
Im a little late to this one. That said why do all these guys screwing silos and stacks up want to wreck them like they are cutting down a tree? You break windows out of stacks leaving them standing on legs. At that point, you can shoot it, or do other crazy stuff. When you shoot a stack thats one three legs you set your charges in two of the legs, and it doesn't take a lot, and once the charges have gone off gravity pulls the stack over. Now to the crazy stuff. Ive seen a stack of similar size, wrecked with nothing but a 763 bobcat and hammer. Once the "windows" were broken out, and the stack was on three legs, thats where the fun began. The guy running the job slide a piece of schedule 80 steel pipe over the hammer bit and went to town. He worked from the back side, through one of the windows, pushing the bricks out from the leg to the left, then he would push the bricks on the right leg. Working from the back side he was able to watch the bricks to see if a gap was opening up. He continued the process until the chimney trips, none of us of the site knew if he made it or not after the stack hit the ground, it was nothing but a cloud of dust. A few seconds later he drove that bobcat out of the cloud covered in soot and masonry dust.
Turbo, its never to late to comment, I must say the Ram Rod method sounds very good and effective, the down side is the Soot Cloud that is coming the drivers way like a Crazy Backfire, in the U.K. we seemed to like the timber prop and burn method as it also gets rid of all those knackered tyres back at the Yard, plus it gives you a good chance to get out of the dust and soot as you watch from a safe spot. tctractors