2000 Commonwealth Avenue collapse (1971)
On January 25, 1971, a luxury condominium building under construction at 2000 Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton, Boston, Massachusetts, collapsed, killing 4 construction workers and injuring 30 others.[1][2][3]: 176–183
 Building after collapse | |
| Date | January 25, 1971 |
|---|---|
| Location | Brighton, Boston, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 42°20′22″N 71°09′31″W / 42.33946°N 71.15859°W |
| Cause | Building collapse due to lack of shoring and low concrete strength |
| Outcome | 4 construction workers killed, 30 injured |
History
editThe construction of the 2000 Commonwealth Avenue building began in autumn 1969. The building that collapsed was to have contained 133 condominium apartments.[1] The collapse occurred the day before the building's scheduled "top out" day.[3]: 177
Collapse
editThe building collapsed while concrete was being poured on the top floor of the building.[3]: 177 Two-thirds of the building was destroyed by a progressive collapse. Approximately 100 men were working in or around the building.[1]
A difficult and dangerous search by rescue workers, involving days of digging, led to the recovery from the building's basement of the bodies of the four workers who died in the collapse.[1][3]: 176–183 The search was postponed for 36 hours while the Boston building commissioner and other experts confirmed the stability of the remaining structure, a delay that angered the coworkers and family members of the missing men.[4]: 3
The four workers killed were:
- Ciraco DiIorio, 45, laborer, from Roslindale, Boston, Massachusetts[4]: 3
- Michael Papasedero, 27, foreman, from Dedham, Massachusetts[4]: 3
- Daniel Tintindo, 41, welder, from Mansfield, Massachusetts[4]: 3
- James Cingolani, 26, Tintindo's helper, from Quincy, Massachusetts[3]: 176–183 [4]: 3 [5]
Papasedero was last seen after the collapse had begun entering the basement garage, where Tintindo and Cingolani, members of his crew, had been working, to search for them.[3]: 176–183
Cause
editContributory causes of the collapse included lack of quality control and inspections, concrete weakened when left unprotected from cold weather, deficiencies in shoring and reinforcing bars and overly high construction loads on the roof slab. A commission of inquiry concluded that the primary causes of the collapse were lack of shoring and low concrete strength.[1] On July 23, 1972, Controlled Demolition, Inc., imploded the unfinished building after the completion of the recovery effort.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e King, Suzanne; Delatte, Norbert J. (22 April 2002). "Collapse of 2000 Commonwealth Avenue: Punching Shear Case Study". Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities. 18 (1). American Society of Civil Engineers (published 16 January 2004): 54–61. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0887-3828(2004)18:1(54). eISSN 1943-5509. ISSN 0887-3828.
- ^ Daley, Beth (July 17, 2006). "Back to the drawing board: When structures fail, anything can be to blame, from bolts to bad management". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Pletcher, Larry; Krajicek, David J. (5 October 2017). "Sixteen-Story Rescue: Building Collapse in Brighton (1971)". Massachusetts Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival. Disasters Series (Second ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot. pp. 173–183. ISBN 978-1493028764. OCLC 957302456. OL 29746246M.
- ^ a b c d e Bellon, Bernard (8 February 1971). "Collapse darkens dorm". The Heights. Vol. LI, no. 14. Boston College. p. 3. ISSN 2473-6554. OCLC 244126535. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
By week's end, only one of the four bodies had been recovered from the approximately four thousand tons of concrete and structural steel wreckage. The victims were: Ciriaco- Dilorio of Roslindale, Daniel Tintinado of Mansfield, Michael Papaserdero of Dedham, and James Cingolani of Quincy.
- ^ UPI (February 2, 1971). "Continue body hunt in Boston rubble". The Lowell Sun. p. 35. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ "2000 Commonwealth Avenue". Controlled Demolition, Inc. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
Further reading
edit- "2000 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston". Failure Case Studies. University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
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