In the pipeline Quarter 4 2016
BeyondtheCallofDuty
those that wanted to
At just after 4 pm on Tuesday 23 February, tragedy struck the UK demolition industry. At the Didcot A Power Station in Oxfordshire – at the time the UK’s largest demolition site – a boiler house collapsed. Immediate news reports suggested many casualties. And, as the dust settled on the 15,000 tonnes of mangled steel debris, those worst fears were realised. One man was confirmed dead, five were injured and in hospital, and three more were (and remain) missing. As a journalist specialising in the demolition industry, my phone started to ring off the hook. BBC TV, ITV and a whole host of local and national radio stations and newspapers wanted my take on what had happened, the likely cause and the likely outcome. One of them – Sky News – invited me to do a face- to-face interview on the outskirts of the Didcot Power Station site. I had been to the site several times before to report on the demolition activities at the vast site. I had even walked through the now-collapsed boiler house. But nothing could prepare me for the sight awaiting me when I arrived at around lunchtime on 24 February, just two days before my birthday. Beyond literally dozens of TV and radio trucks and the massed ranks of the UK’s media, the steel debris stood some 15 metres high and covered a vast area. Despite this, and despite the fact that we already knew that one man had died and three remained missing, the feeling that I left the site with was one of inspiration. While I was being interviewed at the very edge of the newly-enforced exclusion zone, I witnessed several local people arriving with packs of sandwiches, flasks of tea and cans of cold drinks that they were distributing among the teams of rescue workers and the emergency services. I left the site knowing that I had to do something. For several months, I had been working on a book; a collection of articles and essays called “A Site for Sore Eyes”. Its production had been stalled for the worst of reasons; my own inability to choose a suitable front cover. But all of that went out the window when I saw the Didcot wreckage for myself. I made a few phone calls to ensure that I wasn’t treading on anyone’s toes or acting too hastily and then announced that the proceeds from the sale of the book would go to the families of the man killed and the three men still missing. We logged the hashtag #Didcot4 and sent the book to the printer. At the same time, we called in a few favours to produce a t-shirt bearing the #Didcot4 logo and set up a JustGiving page for
Pirtek built its reputation on being responsive. But the company’s response to a tragedy that befell the UK demolition industry in February marks the company as something truly special, reports DemolitioNews editor Mark Anthony.
support the families of the Didcot4 but didn’t necessarily require either a book or a t-shirt.
We quickly got the support of the Institute of Demolition Engineers in the UK, the European Demolition Association in Europe and the National Demolition Association in the US. Dozens of the UK’s leading demolition contractors pledged their support as did major equipment manufacturers such as JCB and Komatsu. Within a week, that #Didcot4 hashtag had reached more than 1.4 million people across the world. Today, that figure stands at over four million and it’s still climbing. But what amazed us most was the support shown by Pirtek UK and the wider Pirtek network. “Obviously, Pirtek has very close connections with the UK demolition industry and is the sector’s preferred supplier of emergency on-site hose replacements,” Mark Anthony explains. “But they didn’t have to support the Didcot4 campaign. But they didn’t just support it – They the UK. “We had orders and donations from right across the Pirtek UK network. In fact, it was a pledge from one of the centres that pushed our JustGiving campaign past the £2,000 target we originally set ourselves,” Anthony continues. “They bought t-shirts and books, pledged money and just generally went above and beyond the call of duty. I realise that Pirtek specialises in emergency response but this was different and really marks the company as something truly special. I cannot thank the Pirtek team enough for all they have done for the families of the Didcot4.” Although the JustGiving target has been reached and the t-shirts have sold out, it is still possible to buy a copy of the Site For Sore Eyes book. To helped push it forward.” Anthony reports that an initial pledge came in from Pirtek UK marketing manager Tammie Argent- Peters who also then circulated a message to each of the 90+ dedicated hose centres up and down
order your copy, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/h2km6oz.”
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