Ford of Canada blows Oakville, Ontario stack in thick fog

There’s nothing like the controlled demolition of a large smokestack to draw enthusiastic crowds on the big day. Unfortunately for would-be spectators hoping for a show at the Ford Motor Company of Canada’s Oakville, Ontario assembly plant, the entire demolition took place in a fog so thick nothing could be seen.

Ford had decided earlier to demolish one unused building and the stack, which stood approximately 300 feet tall. Both structures had been part of the Oakville assembly plant paint shop and were decommissioned five years previously.

“This was the stack located closest to the main office building,” says Kerri Stoakley, internal communications manager with Ford of Canada. “Demolishing the unused building and stack was an energy efficient and cost-effective choice.”

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The demolition project team included Ford staff, Quantum Murray LP and electrical and mechanical contractor The State Group Incorporated. As part of the plan, part of the old paint building was demolished, and concrete debris was piled in such a way as to act as a barrier to help minimize dust during the dropping of the stack.

“The stack was toppled in a controlled drop,” says Stoakley.,” says Stoakley. “This means small explosive charges were used to cut select structural members to enable the stack to safely drop to the ground. We had experts on site who carefully followed both provincial and federal guidelines.”

The demolition of the stack was scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 17 at 6 a.m. All access to the area was blocked within a 1,000-foot radius of the stack. Starting at 5:55 a.m., the Ontario Provincial Police engineered a 10-minute rolling slowdown of traffic on the nearby Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) and on southbound Highway 403 to the QEW westbound to help alleviate any problems that might be caused by driver distraction.

The weather provided an even better solution for discouraging rubberneckers.

“From where we were standing on the other side of the highway, we could hear the demolition, but we couldn’t see anything through the thick fog,” says Stoakley. “We hadn’t seen fog like that any morning for months prior to the demolition or any time since.

“But an extensive amount of planning and preparation took place prior to demolishing the paint stack, taking weather conditions into account. Although it was foggy, everything was in place and the demolition team was confident that the conditions and situation were optimal. A back-up date was already identified — in this case it was the next day, March 18, at the same time — in case of something like high winds.”

During the demolition, the team also worked with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to monitor vibrations. Surrounding homes experienced little or no vibration, and sound was limited to two brief bangs measuring about 120 dB.

The larger scale demolition activities are being conducted using conventional equipment such as shears, backhoes, concrete breakers, and front-end loaders. Approximately 80 per cent of the materials from the demolition will be recycled, including scrap metal and concrete.

“Once the last of the old paint building demolition is done, the area will be flat, as the paint facility’s concrete pad will be left in place,” says Stoakley. “The area will be used as parking for Ford Edge, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKX and Lincoln MKT model vehicles built at the Ford Oakville assembly complex before they’re shipped around the globe.”