Group Blog Home

#KnoxvilleJobWellDone: Deep Team of City Workers Expertly Managed Explosives Crisis

"Heroes" - that's the last thing they would ever call themselves.

Once the 550 broken sticks of commercial-grade emulsion explosives and 197 blasting caps in a smoldering box were rendered safe - and more than 1,000 evacuated residents had returned to their homes - the police officers and firefighters who were closest to the danger were clearly uncomfortable with any fanfare in the aftermath.

Just doing our jobs, they shrug.

Our training paid off, they say. Everyone worked together as a team. Most importantly: No one got hurt.

Anyone would have done the same thing, they say.

But removing commercial grade explosives by hand, then disabling them by soaking them in diesel fuel and burning them... That requires nerves of steel.

Here is what the bomb technicians encountered - a smoking box full of commercial explosives and blasting caps.

Here is what the bomb technicians encountered - a smoking box full of commercial explosives and blasting caps.

Yikes! This is what the bomb technicians encountered - a smoking box full of commercial explosives and blasting caps.

Here's a look at a few of the City employees who jumped in and successfully managed a terrifying Oct. 10-11 situation near the Lonsdale community, when workers at CMC Recycling, 2706 Mynderse Ave., unexpectedly came across a 5-foot-by-5-foot steel box full of the explosives and blasting caps.

The workers called 9-1-1 - and the professionals quickly and effectively managed a tense situation.

'We all stepped up - no one hesitated'

KPD Lt. Jonathan Chadwell commands the Bomb Squad. His first thoughts were about protecting the nearby residents and workers: Continue getting and keeping everyone out of harm's way.

Next, he thought: Who's going to go in and remove the emulsion explosives?

A total of eight bomb technicians - three from KPD, including Chadwell, three from the Knox County Sheriff's Office, two from Metro Nashville - rotated 40-minute turns, two officers at a time, until the explosives were removed and rendered safe.

"It was nerve racking, because the wires were burned, and everything in that steel box was all jumbled up," Chadwell said. "Some of the sticks were broken, some were deteriorated.

"We all trained the same. We all stepped up. No one hesitated. But it was a stress to me - someone could have gotten killed or hurt. It was mentally wearing on me."

This aerial photo taken by a KPD drone camera shows a bomb technician removing by hand some of the explosives so that they could be neutralized.

Chadwell spread around a lot of thank-yous: "The Mayor, the Chiefs - anything we needed, we got."

But he was especially appreciative of the Knoxville Fire Department.

"KFD stayed right there with us," Chadwell said. "They were available to get us out if necessary. Always good to have extra hands close by."

Chadwell specifically mentioned KFD Capt. Aaron Johnson, a 26-year Knoxville firefighter at Station 5 in Mechanicsville.

'I'd rather go myself'

No special praise is deserved, Johnson said: "I don't feel like I did anything, Any one of us would have done the same thing - we're all there to help," he said.

But when the first sticks of explosives were being pulled out, and the risk was most uncertain, Johnson moved in not far behind the first bomb technicians.

He was the designated EMT who would try to pull officers back out to safety if anything went wrong.

"I was in charge of the truck," he said. "I'd rather go myself. Nobody wants anything bad to happen to somebody else."

October use for winter salt

Public Service, meanwhile, provided six dump trucks that were parked in a circle around the explosives and blasting caps as KPD technicians unloaded them from the box and neutralized them.

"We scrambled to get our heavy equipment over there quickly, so that KPD could park them in a way that provided some buffering if there was, worse-case scenario, an explosion," Director Rachel Butzler said. "They asked us to fill the trucks with sand for added protection, but we had salt and used that.

"I never imagined that we'd be loading salt in October - or that our salt would ever be used for anything other than winter snow removal."

Public Service dump trucks were loaded with salt and used as barriers around the Lonsdale site where explosives were discovered and rendered safe Oct. 10-11, 2024.

Public Service dump trucks were loaded with salt and used as barriers around the Lonsdale site where explosives were discovered and rendered safe Oct. 10-11, 2024.

Worth noting: KPD would not allow the Public Service drivers to park the trucks in a circle around the explosives. The officers did it.

"We didn't want to put any drivers in harm's way," Lt. Chadwell said.

Public Service also deployed a knuckle boom, a shuttle truck and a sweeper truck in helping KPD and Transportation Engineering in closing Sanderson Road, Texas Avenue and Keith Avenue.

KAT managers, mechanics scrambled

The late Thursday afternoon call came unexpectedly, as KAT Operations Manager Malcolm Jackson was wrapping up his day. Or so he thought.

Buses and operators were needed in Lonsdale, to help with the evacuation.

Some people had become separated from their vehicles. They needed to get to safety, away from the projected blast zone. Some needed help getting to emergency shelter at the Jacob Building.

"We had to act quickly, so we scrambled to find folks," said Jackson, who's been with KAT for 16 years. "We wound up sending seven buses. They were operated by four shop mechanics and three managers.

"In an evacuation, there's no time. We just gather up who we have, who's nearby, and we go."

KEMA's back-to-back emergencies

Like many first responders, the small staff at the Knoxville-Knox County Emergency Management Agency wound up working a doubleheader. Just as staging for Hurricane Helene and mutual-aid coordinating duties in other East Tennessee counties were winding down, the explosives emergency near Lonsdale unfolded.

"Our people were pretty worn thin, as were the first responders and other partners," Director Colin Ickes said. "The two incidents made for a lot of long days and nights."

The Oct. 10-11 response also marked the first time that KEMA used its new command vehicle for an on-scene response. The truck replaced one that had been in service for 17 years.

"The new vehicle is an upgrade in every way, especially with the modern technology," Ickes said. "This gave us the work space and technology we and our partners need for effective command and coordination."

Inside the truck, the Unified Command staff was able to monitor KPD's overhead aerial drone feed as bomb technicians handled the explosives. In addition, cameras on the truck were raised 50 feet high, providing another perspective.

The truck also is equipped with computers, WiFi, and radio and communications equipment.

'Everyone worked together wonderfully'

Ickes deems the coordinated management and deployment of resources as a success - a view shared by many others, including KFD Assistant Chief Kevin Faddis, who was one of the first on the scene.

Because the initial call for help indicated it was a hazardous materials response, KFD and Faddis took charge at the onset; once the presence of explosives was confirmed, KPD assumed the lead. But everyone involved praised the seamless teamwork and efficiency between all the first responders and support staff.

"We had to make a quick determination to evacuate," Faddis said. "Everyone worked together wonderfully, things went so smoothly. It was a huge ordeal, and everyone moved really fast.

"A lot of people don't realize how bad this could have been. Everybody working that day owes a big debt to the Lord upstairs."

Posted by evreeland On 31 October, 2024 at 10:59 AM