With the CHOP garage demolished, the effort shifted toward recovering the lost ironworkers

The effort at the site of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia garage collapse shifted late Sunday toward recovering the two ironworkers buried and presumed dead in the rubble.

Recovery efforts had been paused while the surrounding structure was demolished on Saturday and Sunday. But with the walls down, the crane with a wrecking ball was stilled and excavators removed chunks of concrete.

Ironworkers Matthew Kane and Mark Scott Jr. are believed to have been in the portion of the garage that collapsed on Wednesday. Stepan Shevchuk also died at the site.

City Fire Commissioner Jeffrey W. Thompson said the demolition made recovery efforts safer. Workers made significant progress on Sunday and the demolition phase was complete, he said.

“A lot of work. A lot of hard work. And I want to thank everyone who’s been working very hard to achieve this,” Thompson told reporters at the garage site Sunday night.

» READ MORE: Grays Ferry neighbors are grappling with the garage collapse, as demolition and the search for the missing workers continues

Thompson said there is still a lot work to do, starting with removing larger pieces of concrete. After that is done, specialists will methodically remove each layer of the remaining debris, he said.

“We will work 24 hours a day,” starting Sunday night, Thompson said. “We are going to work continuously until we can bring those lost souls home to their loved ones.”

City deputy managing director Dominick Mireles, the director of the Office of Emergency Management, said the city is monitoring the impact of the collapse on the neighboring community and have not found significant hazards. PGW has conducted a survey of gas in the area, and the city department of health has monitored the air. There has been dust in the area since the collapse.

“We are at the point that we have really been waiting for,” Mireles said, referring to the safer conditions to pursue the recovery of the workers. Firefighters and others assessed the remaining hazards in the recovery effort, he said.

Mireles noted that the effort will generate nighttime noise that will affect the community.

“We’re sorry for that: We’re working as clear-eyed as we possibly can, and as dedicated as we can, to return those ironworkers,” Mireles said.

He said he expects the Grays Ferry Shopping Center to remain closed on Monday, but that along with recovering the workers, getting the community back to normal is a priority.

Brian Forstater, a cousin of Matthew Kane, spoke to reporters after the officials spoke.

He described Kane a “loving, fun, happy-go-lucky, you know. Good guy,” Forstater said.

He said Kane had been an ironworker for more than 20 years and loved what he did.

“I mean, that’s rare,” he said. “I’m going to miss him. It’s still … I’m shocked.

Forstater said the experience has been rough for Kane’s mother.

“She’s a strong lady,” he said.