Four contractors are expected to submit bids by Friday with their plans on how to clear the site of the Hard Rock Hotel collapse. New Orleans Fire Chief Tim McConnell says an exact timeline on demolition is unclear.
“It takes time for someone to come in assess the building, develop a plan, that they can then give to the owners as a proposal to price it and select someone to take it down. That is actively being done every single day,” said McConnell.
McConnell says the responsibility of taking down the building is on the property owner, but the city has been hands-on with the analysis of the demolition plans.
“We’re in control of it from a public safety perspective, and in control of it from getting the remains of these two victims out of the building and we’re in control of it as it is an active investigation,” said McConnell.
McConnell says public safety is the top priority in the handling of the site, but there is still a focus on how to recover the two dead bodies that remain inside the structure.
“The recovery of the victims, we’ve made a priority for us, so any plan they have has to include whether it is even feasible to get the remains and there plan has to address how they would go about doing that,” said McConnell.
The building collapsed October 12th, killing three and injuring numerous others. The cause of the collapse remains unknown.
