# Crane on house in Akron, OH



## Grace Tree (Jul 20, 2010)

This was just on the news. Not sure what company it is but it's a good pic of a bad wreck. 
Phil

CRANE ON HOUSE IN AKRON


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## PineFever (Jul 20, 2010)

Bummer for the Homeowner, but e-Ride ticket for the operator.


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## Taxmantoo (Jul 20, 2010)

If you run the boom off the front, does it give you more topple resistance than running it off the back?


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## Grace Tree (Jul 21, 2010)

*They cut the tree too low????*

AKRON, Ohio - When Tracy Brubaker decided to have the 125 foot Poplar tree cut down behind her Akron home her friend Ed Serdinak said he wanted to be there to see it.

But Tracy called Ed Tuesday to say don't rush.Â "She called me before I got here to say they cut the tree too low and now the crane won't lift it so they're stuck," he said.Â "They ordered another crane."

With about a half hour to kill before the new crane arrived Ed and Tracy grabbed a bite to eat but it was when they were walking back to the South Pershing Avenue home near West Market, that Ed says it happened.

"As we get oh like a hundred feet away we see the crane start tipping and they're yelling," he recalled.Â "The crane driver jumps out of the crane and the crane goes up in the air and this horrendous roar. "

The weight caused the crane to slice through the attic and second floor like a knife.Â "I stopped dead in my tracks and I looked at Tracy," said Serdinak, "she was just distraught, it was awful."

It took around six hours for crews to stabilize the crane and lift it upright off the home and work began immediately to cover the roof.

Eerily though Ed Serdinak recalled the conversation he and Tracy Brubaker had hours earlier before the accident.Â Â "She said well what's going to happen if this crane lets loose? And I said well it's probably going to go through the roof and you'll get a new house."


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## treesquirrel (Jul 21, 2010)

Somebody forgot to check the green wood weight charts.

Idiots, and a lot of people think that hiring the crane guarantees a safe and damage free job.


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## tree md (Jul 22, 2010)

A guy I worked for early in my career turned one over on a detached garage that housed several antique cars. I wasn't there to see it, as I had long since moved on but it is never a pretty sight when one turns over.

I never could understand why someone with experience would take that kind of risk. I can see a newbie who does not know log weights making that mistake but after you have done it awhile you should have a pretty good idea how much a piece weighs and what the crane will handle. And the operator should definitely know better. The first thing I ask when working with an unfamiliar crane is how much it can get fully extended. That way you know exactly where that crane is going to max out. Don't think I have not been tempted to take big, questionable pieces; especially when it's the end of the day, you are tired and it's down to the second to last or last spar pick. I always end up erring on the side of caution though. I never want to see one sticking out of a roof.


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## treeclimber101 (Jul 23, 2010)

Cheezus Heist how can this happen , its so easy of a thing not to over boom and overload , I have worked with cranes from 15 tons to 300 ton and only once seen a crane come loose from the cribbage and that was only about a foot cause of necessity


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## Grace Tree (Jul 23, 2010)

The one news service said it was a 125 ft. dead poplar. I don't see any tree pieces in front of the house in any of the photos so it's possible that it tipped on the first cut. By the looks of the remaining trunk that would have to have been a huge piece. Who knows? A lot of decision making goes into bad choices as well as good. Another news service reported that the crane was leased to ????? iron company. I can't remember the name. I see a bunch of ALL Erection and Crane Service equipment in the photos but I'm not sure if this was one of their cranes or if they were called in to fix the wreck.
Phil


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## J.Walker (Jul 23, 2010)

Just a small story in the Akron Beacon Journal.


http://www.ohio.com/news/98901254.html





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