 GLASGOW,
SCOTLAND - After a nine-year hiatus following the death of
a spectator, explosive demolition returned to the city of Glasgow
Sunday with the successful felling of the Millerfield Road towerblocks
in Dalmarnock.
Engineers from Yorkshire, UK-based Controlled Demolition Group
stripped out the two 23-storey towers before loading 70kgs of
high explosives on 12 levels of each structure. A 200m exclusion
zone was then established around the site.
Both blocks
were brought down without incident, and all debris was contained
to within ten meters of the buildings' footprint. Blaster Mick
Williams said, "We're very pleased with the way it went.
The blast was controlled and when we pressed the button it went
without a hitch."
Brenda Bellshaw, a 22-year resident of the flats, said in an
interview with The Scotsman, "I lived on the 22nd,
the 11th and the 4th floors over the years. There was a lot
of dampness, and they did sway in the wind, but they were lovely
houses. I shed a wee tear when I saw them come down - they took
a lot of memories with them."
The blowdown
was the first to occur in Glasgow since 1993, when a 61 year-old
woman was struck and killed by flying debris while watching
the demolition of the Queen Elizabeth Square towerblocks in
nearby Gorbals. Two other spectators and a policeman sustained
injuries. Multiple government inquiries into that project, which
was performed by a different blasting contractor, found Ms.
Tinney's death "avoidable" and ruled that proper protection
had not been implemented.
In response to the tragedy, city officials adopted legislation
preventing any advanced publicity relating to demolition with
explosives. In the days leading up to this past Sunday's event,
no news stories ran in local papers, and the only outside indication
that the blowdown was imminent was a siren at the five-minute
mark.
According
to local officials, the Millerfield project's success paves
the way for further demolition of high-rise units within the
city.
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