On August 25, in a matter of seconds, the old Club Med hotel in St. George's will be turned from a building to a pile of rubble care of a controlled implosion.

Rusty Griffin, the vice president of the North Carolina-headquartered D.H. Griffin Wrecking Company, has been preparing the site for the implosion since July 16, and with the internal walls removed and asbestos cleared away, he says the building should be ready to fall on schedule.

Yesterday, Mr. Griffin and his team were drilling a total of 2,000 holes into the various columns that support the structure. The holes will later be filled with dynamite, over 700 pounds in total, to ensure the building's implosion.

Building implosions have occurred for over two centuries, but have become more frequent with advancements in explosives, larger buildings, and more dense construction.

"Some buildings are just made to be imploded," said Mr. Griffin. "This building is actually deteriorating from the inside out."

Running through the slabs of concrete which make up the building's floors are steel cables pulled taut, which give the structure its strength. Some of those cables have been weakened by time and poor conditions, destining the building for destruction.

"It's like a rubber band. You pull it and you pull it and you pull it and it explodes," Mr. Griffin said, pointing out one of the weathered cables. "If this were to go, it'd wind up over by Henry's."

The explosions scheduled to bring down the building are going to be carefully timed and organised to bring the building down like a line of dominoes. Explosions in the core of the building, the old elevator shafts, will weaken the centre of the structure first, pulling the wings of the hotel inward.

More explosions following moments later will weaken more of the structure, feeding the collapse. In total, there will be 12 "slices" leading outward, each timed to bring the building down onto itself, rather then falling away.

The first reported use of explosives for a controlled demolition occurred in 1773 in Ireland, when explosives were used to bring down the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Watford, Ireland. Over 150 pounds of gunpowder were used.

D.H. Griffin has been involved in demolitions since 1959, while Mr. Griffin has been working in the field since 1971, but every building has its challenges.

"The thing that's unique here is that it's built into a slope," said Mr. Griffin. "It's not a building where it's just a square and there's a pattern that repeats as the building goes up."

Despite the slope, Mr. Griffin is certain that the implosion will go as planned.

"We're putting up a chain-link fence and two layers of ballistic fabric," he said. "Nothing's going to get through it.

The fabric, he explained, is a material designed to keep fragments from being shot from the site when the implosion takes place. "

Without it, pieces of concrete could be launched from the building "as far as the water".

Even with the ballistic fabric in place, cordons are going to be set 1,000 feet away from the site, preventing spectators from coming too close to the implosion. The best vantage point for the demolition is expected to be the water, with Marine Police keeping boaters in a viewing area east of the Narrows shipping channel.

"The best view will be at home on TV. The only other view will be from out on the water," said Mr. Griffin.

Public advised on implosion

With the Club Med implosion less than two weeks away, the Ministry of Health has announced a number of measures to ensure public safety.

While the implosion is expected to be well contained, there is some risk that dust will settle away from the hotel area. As a result, anyone with breathing problems is advised to stay at least 1,500 feet away from the site on August 25.

For anyone else, a cordon will be established by the Bermuda Police Service and the Bermuda Regiment, preventing onlookers from coming within 1,000 feet of the area.

Because of the layout of the area, the best vantage point will be from the water, but for safety the Marine Police will keep boaters in a safe area east of the Narrows shipping channel.

Anyone living in the area near the site will be evacuated from the area temporarily and cared for by the Government at another location.

Residents living in GE03 and GE05 postal codes will be receiving brochures in the mail and they are advised that they may be asked to block their roof gutters.

Bermuda Water Consultants will be monitoring air and water for pollution levels to make sure there are no health risks.