The boom is a common suspect to tipping accidents. As the boom raises or lowers through an arc, the boom's center of gravity moves towards or away from the tipping axis. When the movement of a hydraulic boom is combined with the movement through the arc, we have encouraged a tipping accident.
LAUDERHILL, FLORIDA (CBSMiami) –
A massive task was at hand Wednesday night as crews worked to dismantle a Sims crane that somehow toppled over and fell on two homes in Lauderhill causing minor injuries to two people.
Chopper 4 was over the scene in the area of NW 11th St. and 43rd Ave. following the incident around 3:30 in the afternoon.
“The crane was in the area working in conjunction with Florida Power & Light from our understanding replacing power poles in the backyards of houses. Therefore, it required really large cranes to reach over houses and get into the backyards with this,” said Lauderhill Fire Dept. Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Levy.
Lauderhill Fire Rescue says the crane lost stability for unknown reasons and ended up on its side, while the boom, the extension part of it, fell on the roofs of the two homes causing significant damage.
At the home that suffered the worst damage, Glennise Charles lived there with her fiancé, three children, and her nephew. Her nephew, Johncarry Dorilas, was the only one home at the time of the collapse and was transported to the hospital.
“He’s doing ok,” said Charles. “He’s in pain but once you get injured you don’t feel the pain right away. He’s in pain but I don’t know how he’ll be tomorrow.”
Lauderhill Fire Dept. says the second person injured was the crane operator, who was treated and released on scene.
Crews also had a water main break to deal with, which officials were not sure was caused by the crane collapse.
Those who’ve been displaced by this incident are now wondering what to do next. For now, they have nothing but the clothes on their back unable to gather any of their belongings from the home. “They said we’re not even able to get in even after they lift up the crane. We’re not even sure if we’re going to be able to get in,” said Charles.
Lauderhill Fire said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, has wrapped up the on-scene investigation. They say about 50 homes are without power because of this situation.
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LAUDERHILL, FLORIDA:
When John Ruffin turned on the kitchen tap in his Lauderhill home Thursday, nothing came out. The unexpected drought began the day before, when a massive crane crashed and disrupted the neighborhood that, for a second day, was still in disarray.
The retiree said the halted water service was the result of a water main break on the block of Northwest 44th Terrace that soon was followed by “a thundering noise” from the crane that he heard fall onto a home three doors down from his.
“It’s very inconvenient to not have water,” Ruffin said. But it could have been worse: He said he and his wife Sharon have air conditioning, their wireless internet works, and their roof is intact.
Two of the couple’s neighbors were not as fortunate.
The crane boom, perhaps hundreds of feet long, had been extended over homes to install backyard utility poles for Florida Power & Light.
It crashed into two roofs, leaving the crane operator and a resident of the neighborhood with minor injuries, the fire department said.
A crane fell over and its boom crashed into two homes in Lauderhill Wednesday, leaving a resident and the crane operator with minor injuries, fire officials said.
Until the crane is removed, engineers won’t be able to say what caused the collapse or what happened first, the water main break or the fallen rig, Lauderhill Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Jeff Levy said.
Once the crane is removed, city utilities crews will be able to investigate what occurred and repair the water lines, Levy said.
It was not clear when the neighborhood, which is north of West Sunrise Boulevard and west of Lauderhill Mall, would return to normal and work crews would depart.
“It’s not a quick process, as you can see,” Levy said. “It’s a large piece of equipment, and it takes a lot of time and planning at this point, for safety reasons, to make sure the crane is righted in a safe manner. So there is no time frame.”
Ruffin was unharmed, and lost power for only about 12 hours.
Forty-nine customers lost electricity that was restored to most around 1 a.m., FPL said. A couple of damaged homes will not get power back right away, according to the utility.
The crane has to be removed before their electricity can be restored, and about 55 homes still lacked water on Thursday, Levy said.
Lauderhill issued a cautionary boil-water notice for the blocks between Northwest 11th Street and Northwest 12th Street, and Northwest 43rd Terrace and Northwest 46th Avenue. If residents have power and don’t have bottled water, they should boil tap water for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth and washing dishes, the city said.
The crane, operated by Sims Crane & Equipment, was still on its side Thursday afternoon. Engineers were waiting for other cranes to arrive to put it upright.
Before sunrise, two end sections of the boom had been removed but most of it was still connected to the crane and remained in a homeowner’s roof.
Devon Whittaker, Sheryl Nandram and their son spent Wednesday night in a hotel and returned to their house Thursday to removed some belongings. The crane had fallen into their front yard and missed the house, but pulled down wires.
"The power pole broke and the power lines came down in my yard and they said we had to leave," Devon Whittaker said. He didn’t know where the family would take shelter Thursday night.
"They told us the crane would be gone by now and it's still here," Whittaker said.
Sims Crane & Equipment did not return calls seeking comment Thursday. The crane was leaking diesel and there were plans to have the fuel pumped out, Levy said.
Staff photographer Taimy Alvarez contributed to this report.
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Understanding the Center of Gravity to a Mobile Crane
With mobile cranes, there are three basic components that has individual center of gravity points. We have the Superstructure, carrier and boom. Each of these components have their own center of gravity. Depending on how each piece lays they can affect the others center of gravity. Let’s breakdown each component and see what it does.
Superstructure
The superstructure also known as the upper structure is the revolving frame which holds the operators cab. Usually the upper structure supports the counter weights on rear, then the boom and/or other attachments on the front. With this component, no matter the position of the crane the center of gravity will always remain the same.
Carrier
The carrier also known as the carbody is the under carriage of the crane. Dependent on the type the carrier usually holds the carrier cab, wheels/tracks, outriggers, etc. It is manufactured for transporting the superstructure. Unlike the superstructure where the center of gravity will always remain the same. The center of gravity will vary on the carrier. This is reliant on the location of the direction of the boom. For example, when the boom is over the rear axles the center of gravity will be forward of the rear axles. If the boom is perpendicular to the carrier the center of gravity will be center of the carrier’s width.
Boom
The last component to keep in mind is the boom. Just like the other components it as well has a center of gravity to keep in mind. The center of gravity can be affected depending if you are increasing or decreasing the length of the boom. Unless, one is using a lattice boom in the case of this the center of gravity will remain the same until a jib or other ancillary items is added.
The boom is a common suspect to tipping accidents. Let me explain, when we apply boom angles. As the boom raises or lowers through an arc, the booms center of gravity is moves towards or away from the tipping axis. When the movement of a hydraulic boom is combined with the movement through the arc, we have encouraged a tipping accident.
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