OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford

A condemned, asbestos-contaminated house at the corner of Ruggles and Talcott streets in the city of Dunkirk was torn down Wednesday. Due to the presence of asbestos, workers wore “hazmat” suits, googles and face masks and kept a constant stream of water on the debris as a wrecker destroyed the abandoned house. At one point, a large tractor trailer, seen at left in the photo, backed onto the property to collect debris. The demolition effort occasionally tied up traffic in the area Wednesday morning. By nightfall, all that remained of the house was a pile of rubble covered by a tarp and a big hole on the ground where the basement used to be.