Just one day after the old Methodist Publishing House came crashing down on Demonbreun Street and a catering truck, people like Gary Fly weren't surprised it was back to business as usual for Demo Plus.
"Well they're not going to stop working because that's money for the developer," said Fly.
They didn't have to according to Chris Cannon with the Tennessee Department of Labor. "TOSHA (Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration) did not issue a stop work order," he said. "Now, if any issues are found at that site and Tosha issues a citation and they do not comply, at that time a stop order could be issued and stop the demolition."
An investigation into what happened and why has begun, but people who traveled the street said it could've been avoided.
"I thought they were being careless," said Fly. "They should've put up barricades or blocked the highway or diverted traffic or anything until they got that torn down."
Cannon said federal law does require all walls and floors to be braced and secured during the demolition process, but with so many other buildings going up and coming down in the area people are now questioning the safety of other sites.
"It was concerning that that portion of the building was just at the right height and left there so long it decided of all days to collapse on the street," said John Holt.
With many of the construction sites so close to the road, contractors are also required by law to have an engineering plan to demolish a building. Cannon said it was just a matter of time before learning if Demo Plus complied. "Our TOSHA inspectors will go there and see if that plan was in place, and if they were following that plan at the time of the accident," he said.
The investigation should be complete in about six to eight weeks.
