You
A flurry of noise, flame and debris.
Where monolithic structures crumble, twist and sink into nothingness.
A display of art where the beauty is in the destruction.
The images fall away at the speed of gravity and the end product is an undulating expanse
of rubble.
The pros call it shooting and the secrets behind this destructive disappearing act are
the domain of an elite class of blasting professionals.
The challenge to choreograph a demolition ballet that's timed down to the millisecond
and the final curtain closes just seconds after the opening act.
Total eradication of structures under extreme conditions in this detonation countdown.
This program takes you behind the scenes of four explosive challenges.
Prepare to get blown away when engineered demolition gears up to slay a Goliath and
set a new world record.
Then, watch demolition dynamics attempt a big blast in one seriously tight inner Kansas
City corner.
And the building is really socked in in a corner there so, yeah, it's an anxious time.
And if that's not enough, on the same afternoon, they attempt a second job with equally tricky
challenges.
After that, a railroad bridge of solid steel.
Well, I've never shot a bridge like this.
See how its precarious perch makes this blast a dicey proposal for the crew from DemTech.
Then, while delicate surroundings hang in the balance and torrential conditions pose
a threat to the job, see if the team from DICON can overcome the obstacles.
Execution day.
In half an hour, I mean, you're going to probably see a lot of people in tears.
Some turn out to pay final respects.
Oh, it hurts.
I don't know why.
I didn't think I'd be so emotional.
It's a big chunk here, life here.
Some to behold a spectacle.
I'm here to see the symposium.
Like so many other buildings that have been laid to rest, Calgary General Hospital in
Canada is about to meet its fate.
A place where lives began.
Both myself and my brothers were both born here.
Lives were saved.
Yeah, I was born in the hospital and I actually died in the hospital.
I'm still here to talk about it.
When lives departed.
I was just saying if the walls could talk, how many spirits and people have been in there?
Eric Kelly and Anna Chong are the husband and wife team that run engineered demolition.
Their goal, a world's record, to bring down 20 buildings in just 23 seconds.
It's the most buildings to ever get shot at once.
And it won't be the first time they made history.
October 30th, 1994, engineered demolition lowered the boom on the Sears warehouse in
Philadelphia.
It's the largest single building implosion on record.
All in all, they brought 2,720,000 square feet of building to its knees.
A track record like that made Eric and Anna the perfect team to call in for the Calgary
job.
An entire hospital complex.
If everything goes as planned, they'll convert thousands of tons of steel, concrete and brick
to a pile of rubble.
For engineered demolition, the challenge is completing the job.
But for the people of Calgary, the hardest part is saying goodbye.
This landmark has been around for nearly 90 years.
The General, as they call it, is the only remaining hospital in the city of Calgary.
It's awful.
I think it's just awful.
And we're the only city in North America without a downtown hospital.
Is that stupid?
I think it is.
The community hasn't been shy about voicing their opinions.
My concern is, what is the long-term health hazard that's going to be hanging around
the site itself?
The health concerns that we have are from the implosion, the dust cloud from the implosion,
which should be very short-term and will not be any lingering health effects from that
dust cloud.
A common concern in populated areas, implosions often cause a dust cloud that can travel downwind.
But that dust is often the best alternative.
The effect of manual wrecking, using a wrecking ball over an eight-month period of time, creates
the same amount of dust over eight months, whereas the implosion takes care of it within
30 minutes.
Environmental and political issues aside, there are also sentimental ties, ties that
Eric Kelly, as executioner, knows all too well.
One of the things I wanted to tell everybody, how I understand the sentiments of this, and
I really understand it because I actually blew the hospital down that I was born in,
where myself and my brother were born in.
So I understand the sentiments of it.
These three sisters were all nurses at the hospital for a combined total of over 60 years.
For them, knowing that Eric and Anna respect the significance of the building is important.
I look at every individual who worked hard to put every piece of concrete in there, every
piece of rewire.
You can see the craftsmanship that somebody put into it.
This is really great to hear this, to hear your personal side.
Nostalgia is unavoidable, but for Eric and Anna, staying focused on the job must remain
the top priority.
Initiate there.
Initiate there.
We'll also initiate on the southwest one.
It's multitasking taken to the limit.
The first one that you will see, the building M, the steel structure, building will go down.
In about a couple seconds following, the building, these concrete buildings will move from east
to west, and all taking about 23 seconds.
Before that instantaneous final blow is struck, the structure must undergo a process of pre-weakening.
Workers break down key structural points and remove all the walls on the floors where the
explosives are to be loaded.
It's actually a fairly simple concept.
Re-enforce various support columns on the lower floors and allow gravity to do the rest.
Of the 20 structures engineered demolition is felling, the lion's share of them, 18 to
be precise, are supported by reinforced concrete columns.
For these, Eric will be using conventional sticks of nitroglycerin-based dynamite.
Before any of these concrete columns are loaded, Eric has decided to perform a test blast.
He's isolated one single column which he plans to shoot a few days before the blast.
Test blasts are commonly used throughout the industry.
It's a way to calculate the exact amount of explosives required to defeat a specific type
of column.
The blasting of this building is such a major event for Calgarians, the media has shown
up just for the test blast alone.
Here we go guys, we're ready.
Three, two, one, fire!
Eric, how did it go this morning?
Everything went perfect, picture perfect.
We used about three pounds of explosives in a 24 inch column in building H. It obtained
the results that we were looking for.
Are you going to change anything then for the fourth?
If it's not broke, we ain't going to fix it.
The dynamite simply obliterates the concrete in the column and causes the rebar to bow
out, in what experts call a birdcage effect.
In a full scale implosion, when the concrete is blasted out of the columns, the remaining
rebar gives way to gravity.
And the building crumbles down.
Now that Eric has verified his calculations, his team is ready to load the dynamite.
First, they insert blasting caps into the dynamite.
These caps are the final connections that trigger the explosion.
They are then pressed into the hole.
And then they are secured into the holes with an inert clay compound.
This is called stemming the hole, and it keeps the energy of the blast concentrated within
the column.
Once loaded, each column is given a protective jacket of chain link fence and heavy geotextile
fabric.
Geotextile is a woven fabric.
You can't punch your fist through it.
This fabric keeps projectile debris to a minimum while reducing noise levels.
The tallest structure within the complex is this massive brick tile chimney.
Dynamite will also be the key ingredient to its destruction.
Eric plans on timing it out, so this is the last structure to fall.
The grand finale to the world record shot.
We utilize a uniform delay mechanism which allows the building to gradually roll down.
We like to treat our work like art almost.
We like to make it look visually aesthetic for everybody.
Whenever working on a high profile project like this in a highly populated area, the
biggest priority is always to minimize impact to the surrounding area.
The police, the fire department, and contractors all team up with engineered demolition to
coordinate this massive effort.
Giant steel containers are used to create barriers guarding certain high risk areas.
At some points, the bins are stacked three high.
In other areas, thick geotextile fabric, the same fabric used to wrap the columns, is draped
over homes and businesses to absorb shock waves and prevent windows from breaking.
Independent inspectors meticulously document the condition of all homes and businesses
near the blast zone, and seismographs are installed to record ground and air vibrations.
4.30 a.m., the morning of the blast.
All the explosives are set, and the final connections are being made.
They bar no efforts to ensure everyone's safety.
Calgary General will soon be a part of history.
Roads are closed.
Checkpoints and guard stations are established.
Warning signals are sounded.
But up in the sky, a few folks vie for a bird's eye view.
They're too close.
Once the balloon moves on to a safe distance, the moment of detonation arrives.
Five, four, three, two, one, fire.
The way we wanted the choreographed was that the smoke shack would come down last, which
is the grand finale.
All the white smoke was coming up, and then you see Old Faithful just taking a graceful
bow into the sunset.
The most buildings to ever get blasted at once.
Twenty structures in all, gone in less than half a minute.
For the team at Engineered Demolition, it's a matter of pride, perfection, and progress.
I'll probably be in the middle of the street here.
If you could pull your squad car, then we'll get a two-minute warning, and then I'll tell
you what the sirens are.
Okay, well I'll be, until I see you again, I'll be right down here at 8th and Walnut.
Okay, just about a quarter of, 20 minutes of.
Downtown Kansas City.
Everybody's going to be in that back corner.
Everybody's going to be in the back corner.
Steve Pettigrew, owner of Demolition Dynamics, prepares for his moment of glory.
The Ridge Arcade Complex, made up of three different structures, awaits its moment of
destruction.
As the end nears, tensions run high.
I don't know whether to puke or to pee my pants.
Kidding aside, there are plenty of reasons to be on edge.
Yeah, it's when you're anxious.
There's a lot going to happen in five seconds, so it's an anxious moment.
I think it's typical on any explosive demolition project.
You know, little butterflies, but it's part of the work.
Kind of have a good intestinal fortitude.
And Steve needs to summon up twice the fortitude for this shot.
The Ridge Arcade is trapped in.
Inner-city blasts are as tight as they come.
Buildings that must go unharmed encircle the structure.
Steve's after the perfect implosion.
The artist cannot go outside the lines on this one.
It's a high-risk shot, with the potential for serious downtown damage.
But because it's so tight on two sides, especially to the south and to the west, the west alley
is about 14 feet of clearance, and we also have fiber optic cables, telecommunication
in that alley.
So as far as an exposure, it's a real high liability shot.
Steve started demolition dynamics back in 1989, and since then, he's seen his share
of challenges.
It's a three-dimensional chess game.
You're picturing a lot of movement in your mind.
When you get into the aspects of failure, control, that's based on a gravitational pull.
That's where it becomes an abstract.
A profession that requires the eye of an engineer and the vision of an artist.
And Steve's crew back in Kansas City knows what they're up against.
The Ridge Arcade Complex is made of solid steel H-beam support columns.
These linear-shaped charges are made from an explosive compound called RDX.
Linear-shaped charges were developed as a spinoff from the space industry.
They were used to jettison or cut stages off rockets.
They even put them on helicopter blades to sever or release the helicopter blades before
a pilot would be ejected.
On the ground, the job of the shaped charge is to cut steel H-beams.
First, welders burn small squares into the web of the H-beam.
The charges are then inserted through those squares at the angle of the desired cut, with
the V-shaped cavity facing the direction of the cut.
They're secured into place first with rubber bands, then with wires.
When the shaped charge is ignited, it directs its energy along an even plane, making a clean
slice through the steel wall.
And when this stuff blows, it delivers one serious punch.
Experts call it a cut.
Just like as a knife through butter.
The way we do this is by cutting the beam at an angle, which through a series of beams
cut at the same angle will tend to make the building shift over and walk.
But the shaped charges cannot direct the fall on their own.
Welders also cut small arcs in the web of the H-beam.
What we have here is a lock cut.
This cut will prevent the beam from shifting either to the right or to the left due to
the shape of it.
It locks the beam in there, and so when these sever, the beam is free to move.
Beyond mapping out the controlled failure of each beam, they must make sure entire rows
of beams fall in cooperation with other areas of the building.
This is an interior row column.
On an exterior row column, closer to perhaps our point of exposure, we would create a hinge.
So, thus, when this kicks out, this beam here, this severs off, our hinge will rotate in.
So, we're creating a fall here and a push there.
In order to make the falling walls work together, timing is everything.
And things are timed right down to the wire, literally.
Steve will trigger the blast with an electric system.
Copper wire runs from the blasting box to a maze of connections that lead to small blasting
caps that are inserted into each explosive.
Each blasting cap has a delay mechanism built into it.
On the columns that go first, short delays are used, and on the ones that go later, longer
delays are used.
On top of detailed timing efforts, a little rigging also comes in handy when directing
falls.
We went ahead and have an extensive network of cables that run from exterior column rows
to interior row, and that aids and assists the lateral pull of the horizontal beams to
actually pull the exterior walls away from the alley and the below grade utilities.
Once the building is fully rigged and all the explosives are set, plywood boxes cover
the charges.
Besides helping to reduce noise, they play another critical role.
Without the boxes, copper shrapnel from the exploding shaped charges could sever the wires
leading to areas set to go off later.
It's all a matter of time.
Steve makes sure the alarms go off on cue.
And as the final second's near, there's nothing left to do but watch.
Showtime.
8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, fire.
We'll have to go back.
Once the dust clears, we'll go back and we'll assess the area, see if there are any problems.
From here it looked real good.
A big job smack dab in the middle of downtown Kansas City.
Another notch on the belt of the demolition dynamics team, working under inner city constraints
to bring a massive structure in on its own footprint.
A major success in building failure.
But this is no time for Steve to relax.
A rare, almost unheard of practice, demolition dynamics hits the road to do another job on
the same day.
Just outside Kansas City, in the small town of Olathe, an old silo is about to go down.
And even though he's not working in the middle of the city, this job has its share of challenges.
While large buildings are more dramatic, any blaster will tell you that concrete silos,
because of their density and design, are among the most difficult structures to bring down.
Silos are specifically built to withstand internal grain or coal explosions, so they're
hard to tip over.
The day before, large portions of concrete wall were broken away to help pre-weaken the
structure.
On blasting day, the team gets right down to business, packing the pre-drilled holes
with dynamite.
Steve will use the explosives to blast a large wedge out of the base of the silo, essentially
toppling it over, much like a lumberjack does a tree.
And even though it's a small town, a lot of people have turned out for the spectacle.
We don't want anybody within the perimeter.
If we have somebody in there, you know, it wouldn't be good.
Once the area is cleared, the det court is strung out to a safe distance and connected
to the blasting box.
A super-strong, super-stout structure brought to its knees through the explosive efforts
of Steve Pedegue.
From downtown Kansas City to the outskirts, demolition dynamics leaves its mark twice
in one day.
There are no two bridges exactly alike, and there are no two bridge blasting jobs alike.
Sometimes blasters knock the legs out from underneath and let the bridge deck come crashing
down.
Sometimes they leave the legs and concentrate on bringing down the frame of the deck.
Sometimes they work their way across, blasting it section by section.
They might be bringing down something made of reinforced concrete, or they might be working
with solid steel.
And in some cases, they're working under some seriously tight constraints.
Logan's Port, Indiana, an old rail bridge awaits execution, and Steve Rainwater from
DemTech has had to do some tricky planning to pull this off.
Originally, we had figured to shoot it so that it dropped straight down.
The railroad was a little concerned, thought we would be too close to their bridge.
The problem is, the bridge they're blasting is only two feet away from another bridge,
a bridge that's currently in use, a bridge that the railroad says must go unscathed.
We opted for a second position, which was we're shooting the vents that are underneath and
rolling it away from the structure.
In essence, DemTech is attempting to tip the old structure over on its side, and that gets
tricky.
Unlike most jobs where you typically drop a bridge straight down, we're trying to roll
it.
And any time you try to roll a structure, you have certain physical restrictions.
Will the back leg support the weight once you remove the front leg, and will it buckle
where you want it to buckle?
Under Steve's supervision, the demolition team has gone out of their way to ensure that
the bridge does what it's supposed to do.
They pre-cut all the steel supports the day before.
Now, the day of the blast, the pressure to make sure everything is right intensifies.
You keep backtracking yourself and rolling it over in your mind, and keep working on
your computations to make sure that you've got it out right.
There's a lot riding on this project.
This is our main corridor from Detroit to Kansas City and St. Louis, so this is a very
busy line.
This is going to be one of our busiest lines as far as train traffic goes.
If this shot damages neighboring tracks, a vital link could be closed for days.
And if there are any delays on Steve's end, that pushes back the rail schedule.
In a nutshell, the clock is ticking on this job, so Steve keeps everything ahead of schedule.
Time-wise, we should actually be twiddling our thumbs for a little while before we have
to shoot.
But no matter how ahead of schedule you are, no matter where you are, waiting is always
the hardest part.
If I'm shooting concrete in the middle of a 40-acre field, my hackles are up and I'm
tense until it's over.
Something else that keeps Steve on his toes, pending weather.
He can't let the current sun deceive him.
We're expecting a lot of rain from a storm that's moving in from the south.
They have three lakes that drain into here and they control the water, but if they get
a lot of rain, they may have to open the gates a little bit, which will raise this water
level five to eight feet, which if you have a complete span, the entire river span by
this bridge, debris would catch in and create a little dam.
We don't want to do that.
We'd have a water problem in the surrounding area.
That means they'll have to work fast to clear that bridge from the waterway once it's down.
Foresight and planning is everything when it comes to blasting, and Steve is a hands-on
guy, down to tying off the last connection.
But what I'm doing is I'm running the trunk line across.
I'll tie the drops off to it and we'll set it off on the other side and this will initiate
all the shapes basically at the same time.
Steve has the unique experience of being able to wade through the river while attaching
his wires.
Very seldom do you have the opportunity to walk across a river in waders and do this.
Usually you're in a boat or a piece of equipment or hanging off a crane basket.
Because the legs they're blowing out underneath the bridge are solid steel, they're using
shaped charges.
We're going to set them off simultaneously.
By setting the charges off simultaneously, all the key support points will get blasted
out at once, sending the bridge on a controlled fall away from the neighboring bridge.
This will be the last thing we do before we actually tape a detonator onto the line.
We'll check the continuity, make sure we have a good circuit, get with the policemen, get
our TAC radios.
They're going to be setting out on that porch there, advising them to make sure when that
five-minute warning goes off they move inside or move away to the front of the building.
The safety of onlookers weighs heavily on Steve's mind.
The biggest problem you run into though is when you have people coming in.
Oh you're going to have a bunch of sightseers because everybody knows what's going to happen.
That's their problem and unless you have a uniform, it's real difficult to convince them
to move.
That's the biggest problem you run into.
I'll try and get another marked unit over there on the cliff because there's probably
going to be a bunch of them coming that way to look.
You're going to have a bunch of people wanting to come over to the island in this area.
By working with local police, DemTech makes sure that anyone who wants to watch the blast
is in a safe place.
When the area is completely cleared and we get all the radio checks to make sure everything
is clear, we'll do a five-minute warning, then a one-minute warning, and then a ten-second
countdown.
Just stay over here, don't get near the windows over here or anything, okay?
Okay.
As a matter of fact, you might not need to sit next to that window in case we're a shroud
or maybe come in on you.
I'm feeling more comfortable about the blast itself because there's not a thing I can do
about it at this point.
I've done everything I can.
This is the Hogan Sport Police Department.
We will be blasting in five minutes.
We'll be blasting in five minutes.
Move to a place of safety at this time.
We've already sounded five-minute warning, guys.
Lock your roads.
The area is secure.
We checked the continuity of the wires, and the initiator has been attached.
Steve gives Officer Hopper the honors.
When I say fire, push the button straight forward.
Okay.
Here goes the countdown.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
Fire, officer.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
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Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Everybody stand by for just a minute.
The moment of truth.
Steve moves quickly to make sure the blast went off well.
I'm impressed it really did it.
Well, that didn't fall at all.
It drifted off at the top.
The old moves over, literally for the new.
And as my wife says, I can come home with all my fingers and toes and everybody's happy.
And just a few short moments after the blast, as the obsolete rests below, the trains roll
on above.
It did the job and we can keep moving on from here without the interrupting train traffic.
Another job well done for Dempsey.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
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Fire.
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Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Keyshikhan, Alaska, the available timber resources have dwindled, and an old pulp mill
has grown obsolete.
It's a mill that kept the community thriving for nearly half a century.
On the backside, on that walkway that we were at yesterday,
where you were concerned about it jarring,
we're taking a chunk out of there.
Oh, okay.
Just in case.
Yeah, I think that's smart.
Dennis McElroy is the production superintendent
for Time Add Inc., the company that's teamed up
with Dicon to bring this baby down.
He's from the area, and he understands
the significance of this blast.
Well, the mill was built in 1952 here,
and created a lot of jobs
in a very small fishing community at the time.
As the world changes, as the world turns,
this has become obsolete.
We've had problems acquiring timber for the mill.
Bottom line is, though, the mill is down,
and this is a wonderful site here.
So this is our opportunity to progress
and go on to the future
and make this a thriving community again.
And so by cutting it up at that elevation
creates the potential.
So now there is an advantage
to leaving that beam over there.
It'll provide some stability for that particular corner
to keep from knuckling out.
Ketchikan's delicate surroundings
add to the challenge of taking down this structure.
And nobody wants this job to go off without a hitch
more than the father-son team from Dicon,
who were brought in to blow this building away.
Jim Redyk is a pioneer in the blasting industry.
He's taken down just about every type of structure
you can imagine,
including the tallest freestanding structure
ever to be blasted with dynamite,
a 900-6-foot concrete smokestack in South Africa.
And then I think we'll go 500 milliseconds
on a delay, echelon, go back.
Now he's passing his wisdom onto his son, Jared.
And here in Ketchikan, it's a meticulous endeavor.
We're on an island up here in Alaska,
and they're very, very environmentally conscious.
The pollution to the water
and all of the areas that is sensitive to them,
the lead paint issues,
the areas where the explosives were placed
were needle-vacked to remove the lead paint
so that we could do the burning
to place the linear shape charges.
The EPA has been on site, OSHA, and several other agencies,
so they've been very careful
to make sure that this site is clean
and free of any contaminants.
The shot poses significant challenges.
The building was built to house huge pulp digesters.
The lower floors aren't as wide as the upper floors.
It requires some serious, destructive sculpting
on Daikon's part.
We here on this particular building
are gonna shoot on four different levels
to create sufficient failure of collapse on the front side
and allow the building to rotate over top of that.
Then all of this is wired to the columns,
as some of you have done or are doing.
A bulk charge is then wired fast into the column,
and it all is initiated at the same time
so that that piece is driven out of there
and allows the collapse of the building.
The cut that's made from this thing
is smoother and slicker
than you can do with a cutting torch.
It's really absolutely amazing.
For a lot of the local workers
hired to help Daikon prepare the site,
this is a new experience.
I've never been in a demolition situation before.
It's always been construction,
so it's a lot different taking something apart
than putting it together.
I'd say it's much more difficult than construction.
Destruction is more difficult.
What I was thinking is we may wanna do that
on the basement level to create the movement this way.
Even though this type of prep work
is new for many of the workers,
Jim's experienced eye is always watching.
This is my kind of activity
because I can really supervise it
and work on the logistics
rather than physically load my stars.
The loading of the charges themselves
is moving along as planned.
On each beam, shaped charges are harnessed in with wire.
The crew also places sticks of dynamite
against the web of the H-beam.
They're called kickers,
and they help to blow the beam out of place,
which further guides the fall.
(*gunshots*)
I'd say we're probably 20% ahead of schedule
compared to other projects.
So I'm very delighted at how the schedule's going.
But I'm trying to beat Mr. Murphy in his law
and trying to get it done early.
Various agencies have made it clear to DICON
that this shot needs to be cleaned,
as little debris as possible.
So on top of the standard plywood boxes
that cover the shaped charges,
DICON has taken it a step further,
wrapping the boxes with thick fabric
and then using chain-link fence
to further contain the blast.
On the day before the blast,
Jim makes sure all the T's are crossed
and the I's are dotted.
Well, in the next few minutes,
it's gonna be important that nobody go in the building
unless the people that are hooking on the surface delays.
We need to be extremely sensitive to that.
If you stepped on one of those,
you would have the potential for setting it off.
So we need to limit the traffic
going in and out of the building.
We're hooking in the surface delays,
which will give us half-second timing
in between the rows that are blasting.
Everything is moving along as planned,
but unpredictable weather is always a factor in Alaska.
Well, the weather changes rapidly here.
The clouds will come up over top of these mountains,
and it'll be sunny one minute,
and three minutes later, it'll be raining.
In fact, that's why they chose implosion
over traditional methods.
In Ketchikan, with the high winds and rain,
it puts personnel at risk
being up in heights of over 130 feet.
The winds can suddenly soar to speeds
of up to 90 miles per hour.
But even to the blaster,
harsh weather can pose some serious problems.
If it rains and has a low cloud ceiling tomorrow,
we will postpone,
just because we'd like to have a higher ceiling
to dissipate the sound.
The shapes on the primal core
create tremendous noise levels,
so we want to be sensitive to that issue.
They can review their plans.
They can check the rigging down to the last connection.
But weather is one thing beyond their control.
The morning of the scheduled blast,
the rains come, and they come,
and they come.
Little liquid sunshine this morning,
which will probably increase our air blast levels.
But looking at the forecast for the next three or four days,
it's not gonna get any better.
With the knowledge that the rains aren't going anywhere,
Jim has to make a critical decision.
The forecast today is for higher winds
as the day goes by,
and that will help raise the ceiling levels.
That's one of the reasons that we made the decision
for going in.
Confident in his decision,
there's still no escaping the fact
that this blast has an element of the unknown.
I've only shot in the rain once or twice in 25 years,
so I guess we'll experience this and see what happens.
Before the blast, Diakon makes the final checks.
Just now doubling up the checking everything
and doing little things to ensure
that we have extra redundancy,
putting a brick by the surface delay
so then the potential trapping off that
doesn't create problems.
Little things like that to make sure
we've got the best and safest job we know how to do.
Rain is no deterrent to the onlookers
who gather from across the water
to get a real life view of the death blow
this building is about to receive.
Unlike many other blasts,
there won't be large cheers.
For a lot of people who have come,
it's a somber time.
For Jim, it's a tense time.
Five minute warning, five minute warning.
And all the townspeople watch through the haze and rain.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Blast off.
Working under stringent restrictions
against the harsh weather, total destruction.
It's a good thing.
It's a good thing the mill's gone.
We've got to make room for something else here now.
DICON helps Ketchikan make way for the future.
Explosive demolition.
A highly coveted skill.
Where its practitioners combine visionary genius
with nerves of steel.
Transforming a destructive act into a creative process.
Hit it.
Aw, man.
I'm ready.
I'm ready.
Series punctuated.
Fall in hold!
Squam ready for a gap-off.
Ten!
10
9
4
10
6
9
10
4
1
2
3
2
1
9
10
11
12
13
14