An excavator being used in the Park 6 building demolition partially tipped Thursday morning, temporarily bringing the difficult wrecking job to a halt.
The excavator’s driver, Anthony Azarian, was not hurt and said he’d be back to work within hours.
Azarian said he was trying to avoid causing the building’s north wall to topple onto the underground parking structure, so he left about 4 feet of floor intact where he hadn’t punched through to the basement. The excavator’s right track broke through that floor, and the 60-foot boom had so much weight that it pulled the machine over.
If he’d been in a regular excavator, he would have been able to back out of the situation, Azarian said.
There are no instructions for a demolition job, he said, and this is a “very challenging” one, partly because it has iron beams and trusses.
The “old-timers” of wrecking, such as his uncle Harry Azarian, have told him the mishap is no big deal, Anthony said.
“All of my dad’s operators, they have all flipped them, and they said this one is not as serious.”
By mid-afternoon, Azarian Wrecking had used its own excavator to put the rented out back upright.
Anthony predicted he’ll have the building torn down to a “safe height” by Saturday.
Azarian Wrecking Co. is doing the demolition work.
The Indian Motorcycle Dealership, located next to the building, bought the property and plans to make it into a parking lot.
