Danville implosion hits a few snags

By Denice Thibodeau

Published: November 19, 2008

It only took one big “boom!” and about 10 seconds for most of the former Dan River Inc. Dye House to disappear.

The planned implosion went off about 20 minutes late Wednesday morning and had a couple of hitches.

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An elevator shaft and stair tower that should have come down with the rest of the building remained standing after the blast, and one of the smokestacks fell the wrong way.

Danville Fire Marshal Shelby Irving had a front-row seat while she did the countdown for the implosion, which was conducted by Vintage Building Products from South Carolina.

“I thought everything went OK,” Irving said after the implosion, though she admitted she thought the elevator shaft was supposed to come down as well.

Irving said one of the smokestacks did not fall as planned, but it didn’t hurt anything.

“It fell toward an old rail trestle,” she said. “It wasn’t tall enough to hit any of the houses on the hill.”

Jerry Rigney, the city’s director of inspections, said the shaft and stair tower have steel I-beams in concrete from the roof to the ground.

“They were made to stand up to just about anything,” Rigney said. “The contractor will have a wrecking-ball crew in the first of the week to take it down.”

The smoke and dust from the implosion dissipated rapidly.

“I didn’t even get dirty,” Irving said. “It cleared out well.”

Rigney said the all-clear was given shortly after the blast, and people who had to leave nearby homes as a safety precaution were able to go home by 11 a.m.

While the implosion was handled by the contractor, many city departments had support roles, Rigney said.

The Human Resources Department arranged for residents in the area to go to the Salvation Army during the event, while the Danville Police Department handled traffic, and the Danville Fire Department, Public Works, Danville Utilities, the Inspections Division and other departments all had a hand in making the morning go smoothly.

“We were there for backup and to protect the citizens,” Rigney said.

Police along Memorial Drive had their hands full preventing people from stopping their cars in the middle of the road to watch, as well as keeping pedestrians from getting too close to the site.

Officers stayed busy near the bridges as well, with irate drivers complaining about detours and people trying to cross police lines to get closer to the blast. Some people even reportedly tried to sneak under the bridge and were moved out by police.

Lt. J.T. Henderson said no injuries were reported.

Danville resident Danny Gammon was among those that gathered downtown to watch the Dye House implosion.

“Textiles and tobacco made Danville,” he said. “My parents, aunt and uncles all worked there. I hate to see them tear it down, but it would take too much money to fix it up.”

Mike Owen said he worked his way through college at the mill, and his family worked at Dan River since the early 1900s.

“It’s a different world now,” he said as the Dye House came down.

• Contact Denice Thibodeau at or (434) 791-7985.