JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Demolition crews are making progress on a downtown apartment building that went up in flames 10 days ago.
Crews are working a daily 10-hour shift to bring the building down according to city leaders and one structural engineer, not related to the project, says compared to similar demolitions he believes this one is moving quickly.
The $60 million RISE DORO apartment building has been deemed structurally unsafe and is coming down due to an emergency order after a massive fire that began Jan. 28.
An emergency permit was created for ELEV8 Demolition to complete the demolition of the apartment building's fire-damaged structure. The concrete garage and foundation will remain. The demolition will cost $1.2 million and Demolition on the building started last Friday.
In a media release, city leaders said:
"The demolition is proceeding as quickly as possible to maintain public safety, while limiting the financial impact and risk of collapse onto nearby businesses, which must remain closed during the demolition process."
Excavators spent Wednesday afternoon pulling out never before used cabinets and tearing down fire burnt walls at the RISE DORO apartment building. There is a potential for collapse at any moment, so crews are working from the outside in.
“They're generally just pulling it down slowly from the top down. And that way, they don't have as much potential for anything extra to collapse that they're not aware of," said Ron Woods, a structural engineer.
Structural engineer Ron Woods has been involved in similar large demolition projects in the past.
The building was days away from opening so Woods says crews have to demolish not only the wood frame but also the wiring, plumbing and other infrastructure laid within the walls of the building.
“It's all going to be in pieces and parts because they're not going through and trying to salvage any of that stuff. They just want to get it down and get it out of there. So everything will be loaded and trucks and there'll be a lot of trucks and a lot of movement in there," Woods said.
City leaders have said between 8-10 weeks, but Woods believes given the progress so far, we could be on the early end of the time frame.
The state fire Marshal’s investigation is still open to uncover the cause of this fire. In a media release regarding the investigation, the city said:
"Investigations by the Florida Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosives; U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the property owner’s insurance company have been underway, and that work will continue in parallel to the demolition work. The investigating organizations are collecting information by other means. Given that no person can go into the building itself, there was not a reason to endanger public safety by holding up the demolition process."