19 January 2008

Whoops! Cameron Offices incident

| paperboy
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Just heard a whisper that the demolition work at the Cameron Offices has gone amiss, with part of a wall collapsing onto a car parked nearby… Anyone know more?

[ED: Here’s a pic thanks to Ray!]

CameronCrush

[Ed. ABConline have more news that it may have been caused by a faulty phone]

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All the buildings around woden used to be named after the First Fleet…
HMS Siruis was the flagship,
HMS Supply was an escort,
Alexander, Charlotte, Friendship, Lady Penrhyn, Prince of Wales, and Scarborough were all transports,
and Borrowdale, Golden Grove and Fishburn were all supply boats.

Fishburn was one of the ships of the First Fleet (so was Sirius) so I’d say that’s what they were named after.

@Pandy – yeah it’s the old Fishburn and Sirius buildings. I’m watching the machines gnawing away at from my desk. Hoping I don’t get squashed by some concrete! Here’s hoping the building that replaces it has a nicer name than ‘Fishburn’ as well. Yikes

Isn’t this just great!

(Sorry, I haven’t read the article yet – but am going to now do so! 😉 )

Mr Evil: The CT article today goes further, with the CFMEU saying that they’d told Workcover about specific concerns with the safety of the wall that collapsed, two weeks ago.

“Will their ‘full investigation’ turn out to be an incompetence hiding, mate protecting, publicity avoiding shambles of the fire enquiries?”

Probably not: Stanhope won’t be involved in the process at all. 😉

I noticed some ‘cow’ from the CMFEU was on the TV last night going on how they’d been reporting to ACT Workcover their concerns about some of the practices allegedly taking place at that worksite.

On this of all days.

Will their ‘full investigation’ turn out to be an incompetence hiding, mate protecting, publicity avoiding shambles of the fire enquiries?

Crushed car incident will be ‘fully investigated’

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/18/2141312.htm

Gungahlin Al11:43 am 18 Jan 08

Sepi – built 1972.

Those Canberra 50s and 60s buildings were post war, and were built to withstand bomb blasts. Canberra Hospital, the train carriage buildings at Russell and this one.

They were built to last forever and it is hard work to knock them over.

Similar demolition happening on some old building in Woden near the CASA building. At least there they have not allowed parking alonside the demo site.

el ......VNBerlinaV87:41 am 18 Jan 08

No way in hell would anyone have gotten out of that.
(From Aquilas shots:)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28469131@N00/2199079113/in/photostream/

Another shot…

Good aim…

If it was me i wouldnt have done such a direct hit like that.. Very good aim.

That guy wont be working as a demo man much longer.. he will be in the army knocking tanks over

Should have just used explosives and imploded it. Everyone could have gone and watched…

Obviously a speed related accident. The car wasn’t going fast enough.

Incredible.

Heads should roll over this incident, and hopefully not just those of the occupants of the vehicle.

The car belonged to a guy who works in Cameron Offices.

And all demolition work has been stopped while Workcover do their thing…they kept going for at least 1/2 hour after the incident though.

Just waiting for the rest of the buildings to collapse like dominos…hhmmm…might chuck a sickkie tomorrow just in case!

Problem with those buildings is that they were not built with demolition in mind i.e. check out all the reo thats poking out….

Concrete and steel is pre fabbed these days and shipped to site – this was probably poured on site – back in the industrial revolution post cold war 1960’s… Thats my take…

We shouldn’t joke like this. Don’t you all realise that the car poor owner will now have to catch one of those dangerous Canberra buses?

Joe Canberran5:03 pm 17 Jan 08

Yeah but with that aami lass the commitment she asks for is more than I’m prepared to give right now, I’m still young you know 😉

No, they definitely would not have been wearing the appropriate hard hat and safety gear required on a construction site. Another $600 fine.

Looks like the crane drivers car to me…. so odd the concrete only really fell on the car…

Has anyone been to see a girl named Aami? I’ve heard she’s really good with insurance!

Joe Canberran4:56 pm 17 Jan 08

To me it looks like the driver’s side is intact enough, that, had anyone been in the car they may’ve escaped serious injury.

Comment by v_man_returns — 17 January, 2008 @ 4:29 pm

Actually to me it appears the drivers door is ok but the roof is still caved in all the way down to the seat level so I wouldn’t be so sure about what the result would have been should there have been someone in the car at the time.

Ah, unregistered concrete = $600 fine!

The parking inspectors are still trying to work out how to ticket a block of concrete without license plates.

hingo_VRCalaisV64:36 pm 17 Jan 08

That bit off concrete sure did do a good job with that Falcon.

That’s clearly avoidable. He should have been driving more defensively.

v_man_returns4:29 pm 17 Jan 08

yeah they’re already started in the email rounds. To me it looks like the driver’s side is intact enough, that, had anyone been in the car they may’ve escaped serious injury.

I call insurance job!

Is that a yellow parking infringement notice envelope under whats left of the wiper blade?

Yeah, that’ll buff right out! 🙂

who is that guy again that does great car detailing ?? hehehehe

Noooooo; Jessica Wright would say we were condoning unsafe work practices!

Go on, who wants to submit it to the ABC and CT so we can build better relations with them?

I blame Workchoices for this!

neanderthalsis4:09 pm 17 Jan 08

OOOOOOOPS…
Does this mean the Union will call a walk off until the OH&S boys do their investigation?

Holden Caulfield4:08 pm 17 Jan 08

Thanks for the photo … Nicked and emailed and probably coming to an inbox near you!

From the ABC article:

[Cameron Offies] “won worldwide acclaim through a listing on the Union of International Architects Heritage register”

… really? So, famous European architects of the 60’s used to marvel at how awesome the new Cameron Offices were?

I guess they really did have better drugs in the 60’s. :/

hehe – good job on breaking the news paperboy 😉

Heh.
Just checked the timestamp on the ABC article here

Apprently we scooped them.

Few people at my work heading out for photos now 🙂

Yeah, after the initial excitement throughout the office the sick feeling started. Heaps of people walk past there everyday, heaps of cars park there etc etc.

It is a really dumb place to park and walk, but the other side of the arguement is that they haven’t stopped people from walking past or parking there either. Just so lucky it wasn’t a whole lot worse.

What is it with the complete inability of our city to demolish our buildings properly?

Holden Caulfield3:12 pm 17 Jan 08

Yikes! That could have been very ugly.

Sure do, happened right outside the office. It used to be a maroon Falcon…not anymore! Fortunetely there was no one in it, but that’s usually where everyone parks waiting to pick up people from Tax, ComSuper etc.

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