Demolition unites in silent thoughts of Didcot

The Institute of Demolition Engineers (IDE) held a minute’s silence for those affected by the tragedy at the former Didcot A Power Station before the start of its spring seminar.

Close to 200 delegates joined IDE president Duncan Rudall as a mark of respect to workers on the site and their families.

The seminar took place just three days after part of the boiler house at the Oxfordshire site collapsed, causing one fatality and hospitalising five people.

Three people have been unaccounted for since the tragedy, which occurred just after 4pm on February 23.

The sombre nature of the seminar – which took place at the Royal Armouries in Leeds in the north of England – was further emphasised when the opening speaker Alex Hadden of Brown & Mason changed his topic at short notice.

He had been due to present on “The Anatomy of a Blowdown Event” but instead talked about his work spreading the health and safety message to younger generations.

Other speakers were Daniel Silberstein, partner in Hawkeswell Kilvington; Martin Bjerregaard, a demolition consultant with D3 Consulting; Wendy Jones of Loughborough University; Mike Kehoe of C&D Consultancy, Iain Kirk from the National Federation of Demolition Contractors and the RVA Group’s Ian Wharton.