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July 7, 2006 - Members of the 7th Dive Detachment from the 29th Engineering Battalion "Topographic" demolished the decrepit Pacific Bachelor Quarters (PBQ) today using 168 sticks of dynamite. The demolition was a much-anticipated event on Kwajalein and was preceded by a two-day evacuation of the downtown area, covering 76 facilities including Café Pacific, the post office, and the hospital. A large group of onlookers gathered around the perimeter of the approximate 681-foot evacuation zone throughout the afternoon and cheered when the detonation occurred around 4:05 PM. As planned, only the first floor was destroyed with the second and third floors simply falling one story in height.  The structure was partially lowered so that it could be safely demolished with the heavy mechanical equipment on-island.

Videos  

PBQ Demolition Video
Click the above image to view the demolition video in Windows Media format.
Size: 5.5 MB
Length: 1 min 22 sec

Also available on YouTube

Photographs  

Updated on July 9, 2006 to include additional post-detonation photographs.

All of the glass, metal, and electrical conduit were removed prior to demolition, basically leaving a concrete shell.
Tarps and a chain link fence (not shown here) were wrapped around the first floor to minimize flying pieces of concrete.  This was necessary due to the close proximity of adjacent buildings.
Plywood sheets were placed over the windows of the adjacent Jabro Transient Housing Facility. A decent crowd gathered on the afternoon of the demolition.
A decent crowd gathered on the afternoon of the demolition. A helicopter kept watch to make sure no one intruded on the evacuation zone. Ka-boom!
Just as planned, the second and third floors were left standing. There really wasn't much of a dust cloud.
     

 

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