Explosive disposal unit detonates box of dynamite
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on November 2, 2016 10:53 AM
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
An airman with the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit walks to the scene of an abandoned bundle of dynamite at 1237 O\'Berry Road in Mount Olive on Tuesday morning.
MOUNT OLIVE -- Seymour Johnson Air Force Base's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit detonated a box of dynamite sticks Tuesday morning at 1237 O'Berry Road.
The explosives were found by Audrey Bonner and Donald Antilla Monday night, according to a report filed with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
Antilla called the sheriff's office, and authorities called SJAFB's EOD unit shortly before midnight, who then arranged to respond to the scene around 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Bonner told authorities she had inherited the property from her father, who recently died. According to the report of the incident, Bonner said she and several others were going through the barns on the property when they found the dynamite.
Around 10 sticks of dynamite were detonated in a large, open field behind the house that sits on the property on Tuesday.
Lt. Daniel Lange with SJAFB's EOD unit said the explosives were commercial ditching dynamite.
"We wanted to ensure there was no corrosion or environmental factors affecting the dynamite," Lange said of the assessment process prior to the detonation.
The EOD crew began moving the explosives into the open field around 11:30 a.m. before igniting the large blast just after noon.
Lange said the crew used a remote wireless detonation system and utilized C4 to blow up the dynamite.
"We're always happy to work with local authorities to ensure the safety of the community," Lange said.
Nobody was injured as a result of the detonation, but Wayne County EMS and the Dudley Fire Department were on scene as a safety precaution.
When the time to detonate the sticks came, deputies with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office blocked traffic heading both ways until the all clear signal was given.
A black plume of smoke rolled up toward the sky when the dynamite erupted before dissipating outward and turning into a light white cloud of smoke that drifted across the field.
Maj. Tom Effler with the sheriff's office said residents finding old sticks of dynamite or aged explosives is not uncommon in Wayne County.
"It happens quite a bit in Wayne County," Effler said. "A lot of farmers used to keep dynamite laying around."