By CKOM Staff

Crash! Saskatoon skyline changes

Jun 20, 2015 | 1:01 PM

Hundreds of people came out, braving the rain, to see the end of an era as the Parrish & Heimbecker mill was imploded this morning.

There was a three-minute warning tone, then some loud bangs, and then it took less than 30 seconds for the building to come down.

“It was like the whole building fell over,” said an excited Ryan, who watched along side his dad Shaun Stevenson.

“It was pretty neat and rare experience that’s for sure,” Shaun said.

“There’s not too many buildings left in the city that are that old, made of concrete, that would need that kind of removal.”

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Moments after the P&H mill came down in Saskatoon. Angela Hill/News Talk Radio

The 105-year-old building was the first imploded structure in Saskatoon in at least 50 years. Fifty to 60 pounds of explosives were set in the ground and a 200-metre perimeter was set up around the site which was evacuated a half hour before the blast. 

“From all of the planning it actually came out picture perfect, that was the best part,” Saskatoon fire chief Dan Paulsen said.

“From the site I was at it really came out very well done.”

Rain began to pour minutes before the first bangs of explosives but Paulsen said the dampness helped the project.

“The biggest thing that was worrisome was going to be the plume that came off out of the dust cloud. With a proper implosion that’s always going to be one of the concerns that comes forward,” he explained. “As the rain came up that actually just brought that down to the ground a (lot) quicker and then it just dissipated. So that was, from an environmental standpoint, great.”

The rain did not turn around the spectators either. Lyle Hueser said it was certainly something he wouldn’t want to miss seeing. 

“It was an iconic piece of Saskatchewan that went ‘bye’,” he said. “Now the pigeons are homeless.”

– With files from News Talk Radio’s Angela Hill

kmalone@rawlco.com
Follow on Twitter: @KellyGerMalone