It was just another windy day in July where workers were busy installing a retractable roof at the soon-to-be finished Brewer’s Stadium. Dominating the scene was a mammoth crane, the biggest in North America at the time. Workers and residents of Milwaukee gave her the affectionate nickname of “Big Blue.” She was an amazing 2,100 tons of steel, with 567 feet of boom and 30,000 feet of steel cable, which had taken all of six weeks to assemble. Whenever Big Blue was in operation, spectators would gather, many with cameras in hand to record this civic event.
It took four people to operate Big Blue, which had already successfully hoisted 10 of the enormous roof pieces into place. On July 14, shortly after 5 p.m., they were in the process of lifting the last of the roof pieces into place. It weighed almost 1 million pounds and was roughly the size of a Boeing 747’s wing. What they didn’t take into account was the high winds which were gusting up to 30 m.p.h. Because they were behind schedule and over budget, they took a chance and decided to go ahead with the lift anyway. When they lifted the roof into position, it acted as a giant sail, catching the full force of the wind. This was more than Big Blue could handle. A shudder ran down her long blue boom, and then her brakes began to squeal as they gave way. Next there was a dull BOOM! as her mighty kingpin was almost sheared in two. In less than 30 seconds, Big Blue was down in a giant spider’s web of blue steel, cable and rubble.
But that wasn’t the worst of it.
Three steel workers lost their lives as a result of this accident. They had been hoisted in a basket below the massive roof piece to guide it into position and weld it into place. When the roof and Big Blue came tumbling down, they too plummeted over 300 feet to their deaths. You can see a tribute to these three men today in the form of three bronze statues just outside of Miller Park. Because of this accident, safety standards for crane operators have drastically improved in the United States.
These construction workers took a big chance, which ended in catastrophe. Because they disregarded safety rules, it cost three men their lives. Yet how many people do the very same thing today? They disregard God’s clear plan of salvation. They think that they can come to God by their own way, whether by works or by their own man-made beliefs and ideas. The consequences will be eternal — instead of eternal life in heaven, they will spend eternity in hell, separated from God, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place of eternal torment. “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:1313Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 22:13)).
Too Big a Hurry to Think Clearly
A 15-story crane collapsed in Tribeca, Manhattan, killing one 38-year-old man and seriously injuring two others when it was being lowered because of the weather. Everything seemed normal at first — but then the crane operator lost control of the boom, which continued to gather speed, and within 30 seconds came crashing down, crushing several cars and trapping one man inside of his car. Even experienced construction workers said it was surreal, like watching a slow-motion disaster. The boom crashed to the ground with such force that the cab of the crane flipped upside down, its massive metal treads pointing skyward. A building was clipped on its way down, and the metal weight at the end of a cable ended up on an office desk. A witness reported seeing two men running to their right, and one man ran towards his left — he was the one that was killed instantly when the crane came crashing down. Like a long red strand of DNA, “Big Red” lay stretched along more than two city blocks amidst the bricks, masonry and rubble. An order was quickly given to New York’s 376 crawler cranes and all of their tower cranes operating in the city to be secured until they could figure out what went wrong.
State investigators cited negligence on the part of the crane’s operators. Apparently, in the rush to get the boom out of the wind, they ignored safety procedures and the manufacturer’s safety manual. The ripple effect was loss of life, damage to real estate, downtime for other construction workers, fines, litigation and rising insurance premiums, as well as a host of new regulations by OSHA and other government officials.
The Real Safety Manual
Because God loves us, He has given us a sure and true “safety manual.” God’s Word, the Bible, tells us how to avoid the certain judgment that is coming upon all men because “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). But He also tells us that there is a way of escape! “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:1919Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:19)). God wants us to genuinely and sincerely repent of our sins and to trust Him to forgive us for our sins. His Son, the Lord Jesus, died on Calvary’s cross for our sins. Because God has accepted the work that the Lord Jesus did on the cross, He (God) is righteous (right) in forgiving us our sins when we come to Him in faith. God’s “safety manual” is the only way! “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:1212Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)). Won’t you trust Him today, while there is yet time?
You might know the right thing to do but fail to do it. Tim, Matt and Brian found that out the hard way. Death on Lunch Break will show which one survived and why.