Asbestos-containing fireproofing was being removed from a 20 story office building in a major West coast city. One night, fire broke out in the asbestos removal project on the 10th floor of the building. The fire consumed the decontamination unit isolating the project from the building, and plastic bags containing asbestos waste burned. Asbestos-containing smoke contaminated the building above the fire, and asbestos contaminated water contaminated the building below the fire. The fire shorted out the power buss, so that there was no power in the building. We were contacted by the building owner, who hoped to get the building repaired within 6 months.
We designed and monitored a fast track asbestos cleanup, and fire restoration project that involved three asbestos-abatement contractors working in three shifts, as well as restoration contractors. An on-site laboratory was set up to expedite project monitoring.
Shortly after start of the project, work was stopped due to a variety of legal issues. Once the legal issues were resolved, work restarted, and was completed within the 6-month time schedule requested by the owner.