The production halls of OP in Prostějov will be demolished with a ton of dynamite

Prostějov - The area of the failed Garment Plant (OP) in Prostějov will be shaken by an explosion of a ton of dynamite on Saturday morning, which is set to bring down six production halls. Prostějov will thus lose a previously inseparable landmark of the industrial part of the city, where the six-story buildings of the company have loomed for several decades.
    The blasting of the production halls has been meticulously prepared for weeks by demolition expert Zdeněk Šobíšek from Prague. "No one has likely performed a blast like this here before. I even heard that the last large blast was in Dresden when the Americans bombed it. This is a life challenge that gives me chills just thinking about it," Šobíšek told ČTK today, who has to his credit the demolition of 62 chimneys, three large machines, two bridges, and 17 buildings.
    Experts will gradually place 4,200 detonators and fuses into the structure of the production halls of the Garment Plant, connecting them with several kilometers of wire. A total of 1.1 tons of dynamite will be used for the demolition of the halls. "A team of 16 people will be loading it for three days," Šobíšek noted.
    The six buildings will be sequentially demolished on Saturday morning, with each expected to collapse within a few seconds. Before the blast, firefighters will fill the roofs of the production halls with water to reduce dust. "Water will also weigh down the columns of the buildings, which will help us during the blast," Šobíšek added. Including firefighters and police, around sixty people will be involved in securing the blast on Saturday.
    The demolition expert now has to carefully think about the placement of explosives to ensure that all six-story halls truly collapse like houses of cards after the explosion. According to Šobíšek, the demolition will not be simple, as the construction of the production buildings is reinforced with strong iron wires. "For a demolition expert, nothing is worse than when the object remains standing after the blast. It once happened to me with a chimney that I loaded incorrectly. The charges need to be placed exactly where they belong because they follow the path of least resistance, and if placed incorrectly, they won't do the desired job," Šobíšek said.
    The demolition expert also has to deal with unforeseen problems in Prostějov. "We've found out that there is a medical facility nearby OP where surgeries are also performed on Saturdays and Sundays. We need to arrange a pause so that the surgeon doesn't accidentally poke a patient where he shouldn't during the blast," Šobíšek remarked with a smile.
    Although a significant part of the explosion's energy will be absorbed by the building's structure, safety measures cannot be underestimated, according to Šobíšek. Therefore, on Saturday morning, roads around the Garment Plant area will be closed, and traffic will also be halted on the nearby R 46 highway during the blast. Thousands of people from Prostějov and the surrounding area are expected to come and watch the demolition of the production halls.
    The Astria Group, which became the new owner of the main area of the failed OP in Prostějov at the beginning of the year, plans to build a large exhibition hall on part of the land. Some of the parcels will likely be offered to investors.