May 16, 1995
From Correspondent Susan Candiotti
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (CNN) -- Tearing down the remains of the federal building in Oklahoma City is a delicate job, even for experts in the art of demolition.
After the last photo is snapped, the last memorial laid, a final tear shed, it will be time for the Murrah Federal Building to come down.
Doug Loizeaux with Controlled Demolition: "I think expediency is the big engine driving this; to get it down quickly." The company hired to bring the building down quickly has years of experience.
Controlled Demolition has taken down a 23-story hotel in Brazil, a Latvian radar installation, a bridge in western New York and now, the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The same company had also taken down a hotel in Oklahoma City in the 70's. Now, in the same city, a demolition team will level the remnants of a terrorist bombing.
Loizeaux says, "What we have crew in there doing now is really strengthening the building. We're rebuilding so we can demolish."
About 150 pounds of explosives have been strategically placed in about 300 spots throughout the building. After drilling holes, demolition crews have finished placing sticks of nitro glycerin-based dynamite inside, along with blasting caps. Pillars have been covered with wire and material to prevent concrete chunks from becoming flying projectiles.
A computer-generated view of what's expected to happen when the charges are set off in sequence shows the sides of the remaining building folding inward, then the rear elevator core will fall forward. From start to finish, the whole thing should take eight seconds.
It's believed two victims remain buried below the red-orange painted slabs that will be covered with a special fabric. Once the building is down, the recovery will begin. Loizeaux says, "When they see the fabric on the painted debris, they'll slow down and then they'll try to recover the remains."
The mechanics of how to bring the building down are in place, the need to demolish it goes far beyond safety concerns. Oklahomans are ready for the building to come down.
In only three weeks, the Red Cross has counseled 20,000 Oklahomans. Dusty Bowenkamp, Red Cross mental health officer: "People need to start moving on in the grief process and this will put some finality on it. It's like an open wound while this building is still here."
Robert Mora wants to see it go. "It's a sad sight. It's not a real good memory. And it's time to move on."
That time will come in the eight seconds it takes to implode the Murrah Building.
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