Gilbertsville Firehouse: Out with the old and in with the new!

Established in 2005, the Gilbertsville Firehouse crew decided it was time for a change! Starting on June 9th and lasting one calendar month, Empire Services demolished the old firehouse to make room for a new, combined firehouse and Douglass (Montgomery) Township Police Department building.
With the help of our experienced staff and expert equipment, including our 345 John Deere excavator, CAT 321 Excavator, CAT 953 roller, Extec c12 jaw crusher, and CAT 10-ton roller, we were able to complete the demolition of the structure as well as recycle important materials from the demolition debris.
The main strategy of this demolition was to remove from highest to lowest, leaving concrete slabs to work off of and clean up, and finishing the underground afterward. This process was started by opening the exterior walls and removing interior features, which included large clear span steel trusses, various social club features, and the fire company working quarters.
Throughout the demolition process, a handful of materials were recycled. All steel was salvaged and all concrete (and other building solids) were crushed using recycled material as backfill. Overall, the process went smoothly with only a few obstacles.
For the crew at the Gilbertsville Firehouse demolition, the biggest obstacle was that the foundations had an unusual pile design that was unknown, making removal complicated. Pile foundations are composed of a series of columns constructed or inserted into the ground to transmit loads to a lower level of subsoil.
Thanks to our expert team at Empire Services, this redevelopment project was a success, allowing the site to be prepared for building construction. To learn more about our demolition services, contact Empire Services today!




