By: Lorra Lynch


Another blast went off at Pyrotechnic Specialties Inc. on Friday, but this one was carefully planned.

Assistant State Fire Marshal Chris Stephens called the outcome of Friday's explosion "excellent." He says thanks to meticulous planning, it went exactly as planned --destroying all remnants of last Sunday's accidental explosion.

Early Friday morning, a team of bomb experts, state fire marshals, sheriff's deputies and P.S.I. representatives gathered for a briefing on how they would destroy 62 pounds of explosives. Moments later, deputies headed for the homes of people living with in a half-mile radius of P.S.I.

TERRY DEESE, PEACH COUNTY SHERIFF:
"We asked them to leave during the blast just as an extra precaution."

Then, just as planned at 11:01 a.m., blasting experts set off the explosion.

Blasting expert Tony Oxford, says they built a berm, or dirt pile, around the concrete bunker containing the explosives to make sure the debris went up instead of out. Blasting expert Larry Gilmore detonated the explosion.

LARRY GILMORE, BLASTING EXPERT:
"We always have that moment you might say, there could be a miscalculation possibly. There's always that possibility, but there is a feeling of satisfaction with the end result."

The results of Friday's controlled explosion were just what the assistant fire marshal had in mind.

CHRIS STEPHENS, ASST. STATE FIRE MARSHAL:
"We feel like the hazard has been eliminated by the detonation. We are planning on allowing the plant to re-open Monday on a probationary type of license."

Stephens says there are still inspections for P.S.I. to pass and safety concerns for the fire marshals to address. He says the probationary period could be lifted in a week, but it could be much longer if the inspectors find other problems at P.S.I.

The Chief Executive Officer of P.S.I., Dave Karlson, said in a written statement he feels sure the inspectors won't find any more safety problems created by last Sunday's explosion. He went on to say, "While we understand and apologize for any concern felt by any citizens, you should be assured that a large number of employees here are focused on the issue of safety of the public."

In the release, Karlson also says P.S.I.'s facility is designed to handle unplanned events like what happened last Sunday. Assistant State Fire Marshall, Chris Stephens, says C-4 was used to ignite the explosion. C-4 is an agent commonly used to demolish buildings.

Click here to read the statement from P.S.I.