Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

After the City of Philadelphia recently passed new ordinances directing the display of contractor licenses, the use of permits, and the posting of job sites for all contractors, further requirements to perform demolition or construction work inside the City limits went into effect on January 1, 2014.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a final rule on the use of cranes and derricks in underground construction and demolition.

The Pennsylvania state legislature is now getting involved in the building collapse case in Philadelphia. Two state house committees will be holding hearings on the accident to evaluate how building codes impact demolition work and whether changes to the code can prevent the type of accidents that occurred in this instance. Both the Labor & Industry and Urban Affairs Committees will hold hearings on Tuesday at 1:00 at the Seaport Museum in Philadelphia.

News reports in the last several hours indicate that a building at the corner of Market and 22nd Streets in Center City Philadelphia has collapsed and buried between 8-10 people.  There was construction work going on in the area, including demolition work to bring one of the buildings down.  It is assumed, but officially unknown, whether the demolition work was the cause of the building collapse.