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Implosion escape to be Angel’s last deadly stunt
By ALEXANDRA CALDWELL
Article published on Friday, July 25, 2008 |
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![[Image]](/content_images/072508_cit-01.jpg) |
| Criss Angel |
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CLEARWATER – As a boy, Criss Angel sat on his bed for hours picking locks with his pick set. He’s always loved magic but hates the “hokey” magician shows.
So Angel performs stunts and illusions gothic-style.
Wednesday, July 30 in Clearwater, Angel is scheduled to perform what he calls “the most exciting, biggest and baddest escape” yet before a live audience and live on television. This will be his first live performance on his show, “Mindfreak.”
Angel is scheduled to stand handcuffed to a sixth-floor balcony of the Spyglass Resort where he’ll have 3.5 minutes to pick the handcuff locks, then two door locks, run up three flights of stairs, pick two more locks on a roof hatch and escape to a 30-foot ladder that will dangle from a hovering helicopter. It will take 30 seconds for the helicopter to climb 1,000 feet.
At the four-minute mark, the building implodes.
“That’s 4,500 tons of cement that will be coming barreling down to the earth, and it’s my goal not to be in its path, and it will be coming down, no matter what,” Angel said during a July 24 press conference.
Angel said he loves the surreal juxtaposition of the beautiful, serene Clearwater Beach with the excitement and tension of a building implosion. Plus, he added, he’s wanted to do this stunt for a long time and it’s not often that a city gives him the necessary permissions to go through with it in the appropriate time frame.
Angel said he faces challenges methodically, tackling one task at a time. He’s acutely aware of all that could go wrong, but after this, there isn’t any stunt he’s afraid of, he said.
“If you don’t fear death, what is there to fear?” he asked reporters. “I don’t fear anything because ultimately, what’s the worst that’s going to happen? I could die. And I’ve accepted that and I’ve sacrificed my concern to put my effort into my art.”
Fearless or not, Angel said this will be his last death-defying stunt. Why? Because he promised his mother.
“My mom is in her 70s, I adore her to death, and she’s really my mother, my father, my reason I had the opportunity to pursue my dream, and I don’t want to put her through this anymore,” Angel said.
Despite Angel’s reservations, his mother and his brothers plan to fly to Florida to watch the stunt live on Clearwater Beach.
He still plans to perform stunts and illusions, but they won’t be as dangerous, he said. Magic is in his blood, he said, and wants to share his gifts with the public.
“For me, magic is beautiful,” Angel said. “It should make people live and dream and be enchanted like it did when you were a child.”
People may watch the show live for free on Wednesday, July 30 at 10 p.m.
Public viewing areas
Two public viewing areas north and south of a 500-foot “safety zone” will be open for the event on Clearwater Beach, between the Pier 60 parking lot to the north and the Barefoot Beach House to the south
A large video screen will be placed at the northern edge of the safety zone for public viewing of the live program.
A&E and Criss Angel Productions is handling all invitations and credentialing for their live production area, which is separate from any public viewing areas.
Road closures
The following traffic closures will be required for the implosion and associated television production:
- South Gulfview Boulevard will be closed from just south of the Pier 60 parking lot to just south of the Hyatt Aqualea construction site from 7 a.m. July 28 until approximately 7 a.m. July 31. Coronado Drive will be open for through traffic during this time.
- No traffic will be allowed on Coronado Drive between Hamden Drive and Third Street from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m. July 30. North and south traffic will be able to use Hamden to access local residences and businesses during this time.
- No northbound and southbound traffic between the roundabout and Fifth Street will be allowed from about 10:30 until 11:30 p.m. on July 30 for the implosion. Traffic from north beach will be able to enter and exit the island using the Memorial Causeway Bridge. Traffic on Sand Key will need to use the Belleair Causeway as an alternate route.
About the demolition
Advanced Explosives Demolition Inc. released information to help the public understand the implosion process and answer some frequently asked questions.
“Understanding every implosion contains a unique set of circumstances, we have compiled “general answers” based on our personal experiences,” said a press release from Advanced.
Additional questions can be addressed at www.biggerblast.com.
Frequently asked questions and answers
What type of explosives are used?
The nature of explosives has dramatically changed over the decades.
When a structural steel building is imploded, you view the work of a Space Age explosive called a "Linear Shaped Charge". We use this tool to actually sever steel, not "blow it apart". Most often we will use good old fashioned dynamite, because of its detonation properties, or a newly developed product in "slurry" form. Once the 'button is pushed' all of the charges will detonate at a predetermined interval. The blast machine is mastered from a command post, which is generally set up several hundred feet from the structure. Safety coordination is generally directed from the command post, which is made up of the blast team including representatives of the city.
Are all floors detonated?
The number of floors to detonate will be determined by structural analysis. This analysis includes: the condition of the structure, height of structure, exposures surrounding the structure and direction of fall, to mention a few. We specifically weaken a required number of floors to ensure the building inclines to a non-exposed area or create a non-exposure area via sequencing the detonations.
How will the implosion affect nearby homes and other structures within the complex?
The most obvious impact will be the fact that the area will be temporarily cleared within the safety perimeter during the implosion. We will ask residents and shop owners within that vicinity to close their windows, turn off air conditioning units and other air intakes, place plastic sheeting over louvers or vents in their buildings and take other general precautions to ensure that dust doesn’t enter their structures. Dust is the main byproduct of all types of demolition, which affects adjacent properties.
Noise and vibration levels will be generally below those as limited by law (laws vary by state) and would be well below levels that would cause any type of damage, even to older and possibly poorly maintained structures.
What is the blast perimeter?
Through a carefully planned, step-by-step process, the Advanced Explosives Demolition Inc. team and city officials determine a perimeter, which must be cleared to absolutely guarantee safety of all residents and personnel. Based on prior experience, the area is normally 500 to 1000 feet around the buildings being imploded during the actual detonation of the demolition charges. There are actually two perimeters: the Primary Exclusion Zone and the Secondary Exclusion Zone.
The Primary Zone allows the passage of essential personnel that are directly related to the blasting operations; no vehicles or pedestrians are allowed in this area.
The Secondary Zone allows regular every-day passage of vehicles and pedestrians. Police and security personnel will enforce these safety perimeters.
How long will the implosion take? Will we feel it?
The actual implosion will last no more than a few seconds. Advanced Explosives Demolition Inc. will generally place many small explosive charges (usually weighing a few ounces each) at critical locations on the structure. These charges will detonate at intervals to dominate the direction of fall.
With respect to 'feeling it', it is amazing how sensitive the human body is!
Whether or not you 'feel it' will depend upon where you are at the time of the implosion. If you are standing downwind, you will think you feel it when you hear the noise created by the charges being detonated. Actually, you won’t. Nor will you feel the vibration from the detonation of the small charges or the fall of debris at ground level. Seismographs will be used to record the actual vibration of the implosion operations and the falling debris.
Do we need to board up our windows? Will our windows break?
We do not expect windows to be broken as a result of the operation. No special effort will be needed on the part of any resident or shop owner adjacent to the site. If the contractor chooses to place any protection on adjacent properties, it will be erected and removed by the contractor at his expense.
Will the implosion affect gas lines, water lines, electrical services and other utilities?
No. There will be no adverse effect on any of these utility services as a result of implosion operations.
How will the schools be affected?
The schools will not be adversely affected by the implosion. If the wind is blowing toward the school at the time of the implosion, a thin coating of dust will result. There will be no structural damage as a result of the implosion. The Implosion Team will be reviewing implosion operations with representatives of the area schools.
Will the dust affect my breathing or my asthma?
We are always concerned with the impact of dust on residents who might have respiratory problems. First and foremost, we try to see that these residents are put in a position upwind during the implosion. In other words, if the wind is blowing out of the east to the west, we would like you to be on the east side of the structure so the dust blows away from you. If you are in an area where you do not have to evacuate your structure, it is usually more than adequate to close windows and doors to keep dust out. If there is any question about the effect of masonry dust on your specific respiratory ailments, you should consult your physician accordingly.
How far will the dust travel?
First of all, it’s important to point out that the same quantity of dust will be created by the implosion, as would be the case by demolition. The advantage of implosion is that the dust is created at one, predetermined time. In other words, we can all plan for the dust and deal with or mitigate it accordingly.
The distance the dust travels depends entirely upon the direction and speed of the wind at the time of the implosion. If it were an absolutely still day, the dust might not travel much. On a windy day, the dust will travel much farther. Most of the heavy dust particles fall out of the air within a few hundred feet, while finer particles can travel at a greater distance.
Suzette Porter contributed to this story.
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Article published on Friday, July 25, 2008
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