Description of the works
Maple Mill was a six storey building of brick construction found to be structurally unstable and in a dangerous condition after fire caused parts of the building to collapse. The mill was surrounded by residential properties and industrial units. The morning of the 15th December 2016, a fire started at Maple Mill No.1. as a result large parts of the building started to collapse.
The fire started on the top floor of the mill. Around 70 firefighter’s attended, with nearby properties evacuated. The building was declared to be structurally unstable as a result of the fire, during which large parts of the building collapsed, and work to demolish unsafe portions of the mill began on the 16th December. Our excavator operators worked tirelessly to aid the fire service to extinguish the fire which took many days of churning through the debris whilst the fire service continually saturated the area.
When the fire was eventually extinguished the tower still remained upright but in a very unstable condition. The demolition of the tower was executed by mechanical means using a CAT 345 high reach hydraulic excavator and to accommodate this work, a road closure had to be arranged with Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council. Due to the close proximity of the residential properties and various businesses, it will also be necessary to evacuate all adjacent properties during the demolition of the tower.
Steel plates were placed on the public highway for protection. Using the hard-core from the demolition of the mill a ramp was formed inside the mill footprint and in front of the tower. The ramp was created to a sufficient height to allow the hydraulic high reach excavator to access the top of the tower.
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council are still deciding the future of the remains of the Maple Mill.