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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Investigators to remove detonator cord
2003-12-17
Representatives from the Federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as well as a technician from Kennedy Space Center are at a Merritt Island mobile home today to help remove highly explosive detonator cord embedded in a concrete patio. The cord has been a part of the trailer home at 325 Lafitte Court in Merritt Island for more than 20 years, the Brevard County Sheriff’s office said. Highly explosive, the cord injured two pest control workers this week after they drilled holes into the concrete to lay pesticide.
"Cheeze, Herb! Whut the hell was that?"
After the second explosion on Tuesday evening, Brevard County Fire-Rescue contacted the Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad to respond. "What we found was detonation cord embedded in the concrete," said Lt. Jack Aguiar of the sheriff’s bomb squad. "We then contacted the Hazardous Materials Team which determined the cord was made of PETN, a material used for detonation." PETN, or pentaerythritoltetranitrate, is one of the strongest known high explosives. It is more sensitive to shock or friction than TNT or tetryl, and is primarily used in booster and bursting charges of small caliber ammunition, in upper charges of detonators in some land mines and shells, and as the explosive core of primacord. "It looks like a clothes line, " said Aguiar. "It may be that someone used the cord as a level line when pouring the slab for the patio, and the line ended up buried in the concrete."
"Uhhh... Wally? Please don't smoke around the plumb bob!"
Mike Bieker, a technician with the sheriff’s bomb squad, believes the cord was put into the concrete by a previous homeowner and has been degrading over the past 20 years, making it even more volatile. The homeowner has lived on the property for about 18 years and has since been moved out of the trailer. The two Terminex employees - Todd Defusco and Jerry Alleston - were treated and released from local hospitals with only minor injuries. The KSC technician is using a handheld detection device to help locate the cord before workers are able to remove it, Bieker said.
Posted by:Chuck Simmins

#9  Ship,I remember those PSA's,I grew-up in mining towns(hell I spent years living in company housing and getting school clothes from the company store,"What'll it be blue jeans or black,son".)All those years around open-pit and underground mines and not one blasting cap.
Posted by: raptor   2003-12-18 8:20:33 AM  

#8  After the second explosion on Tuesday evening

Steve - You beat me to it. I could not believe I was reading this line. I guess if they would have had a team of six "pest control engineers" on this job, no one would have been called until the sixth friggin' idiot tried his luck.

Watch this population for future Darwin Award winners. 'Just warmin' up, now.
Posted by: Lone Ranger   2003-12-17 11:58:17 PM  

#7  Shipman: same here, except we palled up with some quarry guys who gave us caps, crimpers, fuse, and instruction. We were stupid, but we were pretty safe. And I guess lucky. Needless to say, I am not teaching my 8 year old son the trade, heh heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2003-12-17 4:30:36 PM  

#6   Makes a hell of a chalk line, though

LOL!

Remember the PSAs back in the 60s warning kids about blasting caps? I spent half my boyhood looking around construction sites for said devices... never could find any tho.
Posted by: Shipman   2003-12-17 3:06:56 PM  

#5  Was the patio to code?
Posted by: Super Hose   2003-12-17 2:45:38 PM  

#4  Primacord detonates at 20,000 ft/sec. Pretty heavy duty chalkline. I wonder where they got it and for what purpose. That stuff would be for quarries, or building demolition, or maybe seismic work. People usually don't leave rolls of primacord laying around.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2003-12-17 2:43:07 PM  

#3  After the second explosion on Tuesday evening

Hello, the first one didn't get your attention?
"Damm, Herb, that looks like it hurts. Here, wrap this rag around it while I finish drilling.....Ouch!"
Posted by: Steve   2003-12-17 2:27:09 PM  

#2  Makes a hell of a chalk line, though -- one snap and it marks the line and cuts through in one easy step.
Posted by: snellenr   2003-12-17 2:25:01 PM  

#1  Somebody is taking this recycling bit way too seriously. It's funny until somebody loses an eye.
Posted by: Dar   2003-12-17 2:23:32 PM  

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