Commissioner of Permits and Inspections for the city of Buffalo Catherine Amdur speaks to the press on the emergency demolition of the three-story building on 745 Main St. The conference took place on March 14, 2023 in downtown Buffalo and video is provided by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown's Facebook page.
Demolition of the three-story Main Street building destroyed in a deadly fire two weeks ago is expected to begin. Commissioner of Permits and Inspections for the city of Buffalo Catherine Amdur spoke to the press outside of the site Tuesday about what the public can expect with the demolition.
“Anytime we're doing a demolition and a controlled demolition, there is always safety precautions in place," Amdur said. "We don't anticipate or expect that there's any danger to the public. But there are regulations in place from the state that are followed very carefully to protect folks nearby and make sure that it is safe.”
While neighboring businesses can remain open, Amdur said that people should not come near the direct demolition site. Main Street, between Tupper Street and Goodell Street, will be closed to traffic during demolition and Washington Street between Tupper and Goodell will be closed until further notice.
"I think folks just want the streets open as quickly as possible," Amdur said. "And as long as we're safe, we'll do that as quickly as we can."
Empire Dismantlement Corporation is the contractor performing the demolition. They will begin the demolition starting from the rear of the building from the center and bring the sidewalls in. Amdur said that the building is "structurally compromised" and the demolition will be slow and methodical.
A week is expected for the full demolition of the building, and another week for sorting and loading materials for recycling. A third week is possible for backfilling and grading of the site.
The March 1 blaze resulted in the death of 37-year-old Buffalo firefighter Jason Arno. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
