Laidlaw Energy Group, Inc.(fka LLEG)

[gemmerling]

Two stacks go down easily but third proves a challenge
Seven people injured and property damaged

Barbara Tetreault

BERLIN— Berlin’s symbolic goodbye to its paper making days proved to be as unpredictable as the industry itself was for much of its history.
Three of the Burgess mill’s towering smokestacks were set to be demolished within seconds of each other Saturday morning.
Two of the stacks went down perfectly to the clicking of thousands of digital cameras. But the third stack was a different story. It remained standing after two charges of explosives and went down only after workers cut the steel rebars inside the stack. Then when the stack hit the ground, debris was thrown hundreds of feet, spraying rocks and bits of metal into a nearby neighborhood. Seven people suffered injuries ranging from bruises to a fractured rib. Windshields and vehicles were damaged and several homes had holes punched in their siding.
Scores of invited guests gathered under tents on the mill property while all over the city people lined up at viewing spots in the pouring rain to watch the historic event.
As planned, shortly after nine a.m. the fire siren sounded, and N.H. Commissioner of Resources and Economic Development George Bald pushed the button to set off the explosives on the first stack set to go—the 320-foot high central steam stack. Just as the experts had said, the public first heard a big kaboom and then short seconds later the stack fell, landing right on target.
Bald flashed a thumbs up sign.
“I did love pressing the button,” he said.
Phil Belanger said a million things went through his head as he drove from Raymond to Berlin early Saturday morning to push the second button. As he thought about the mill and his hometown, he said he worried he would succumb to his emotions when his turn to press the button came.
“It’s very bittersweet,” he said.
But he retained his composure and the second stack, the 280-foot No. 8, went down without complications. Watching carefully were Laidlaw Energy LLC. head Michael Bartoszek and consultant Charlie Bass. The stack was next to the chemical recovery boiler Laidlaw is hoping to purchase and convert into a biomass plant.
But complications developed with the third and final stack, the 320- foot lime kiln. Marlene Russ of Errol, the other winner in the raffle, pushed the button. The explosives went off but the stack remained standing. While the crowd waited, officials of Dykon Explosives viewed videos from the scene and set up a second load of explosives. After about 45 minutes, the siren sounded and Russ pushed the button a second time. Again the stack remained standing.
“I guess I won’t have a career as a button pusher after all,” Russ quipped.
Looking less than happy were officials of Dykon and North American Dismantling, which owns the property. Dykon President Jim Redyke went to the scene with a spotter and personally used a cutting torch to cut some of the remaining steel rebar. As he felt the stack give, he moved away and it went down.
Redyke said he has demolished hundreds of stacks in his career and this is the first time he had one refuse to drop.
"It did not go 100 percent as planned. It was an unusually tough stack,” he said.
The stack fell without warning and the force of its landing sent rocks and debris flying over to the Burgess Street neighborhood.
Sherry Fontaine was standing at the stop sign on Burgess Street with her granddaughter Hannah Tremaine and Hannah’s friend, Trevor Theriault, when the stack went down. Her daughter Penney Tremaine said dust and rocks were flying all over and a rock hit her mother in the back. Fortaine was taken by ambulance to Androscoggin Valley Hospital where it was determined she had a fractured rib.
“The rocks were just flying all over the place,” said nine-year old Trevor Theriault. He described the scene as “scary.”
Armand Fortier had been watching the demolition seated in his truck parked on Burgess Street. He said there was panic on the street once the debris started flying.
“As soon as I saw rocks bouncing off my hood, I ducked,” he said. He said people outside were ducking behind his truck to avoid being hit. The windshield on this truck was cracked and there were chips and dents on front of his truck.
Other injuries were described as cuts and bruises.
Many who gathered to watch the demolition expressed mixed emotions. The paper industry has been the mainstay of the local economy for over a century and the demolition of the pulp mill is a vivid symbol that those days are over.
“Because it’s so visual it leaves a big hole,” said Priscilla Hauser, of Glen Falls, N.Y. “There’s a lot of sadness for the local people.”
But many chose to look ahead at what the future might hold for Berlin without the image of being a paper mill town.
“But one door closes and another one opens,” noted Sue Menter.
“I’m sure it’s going to be for the better.”
(Berlin Daily Sun reporter Craig Lyons contributed to this story)

http://www.mountwashingtonvalley.com/BDS/newsbds.shtml

Greg