Bomb squad takes care of old dynamite in attic

An explosive discovery at a mental health facility drew out police, firefighters, EMTs and other emergency personnel in Lincoln County on Monday.

According to a news release from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, an environmental restoration contractor working on an unused outbuilding of the Western Montana Mental Health Center discovered in the attic a box marked “1948” containing eight sticks of “severely deteriorated” dynamite. 

The contractor was performing asbestos cleanup.

A visiting explosives expert confirmed the discovery and the center was evacuated. That evening, the expert temporarily desensitized the explosives and overnight security was established.

The following morning, the Missoula City/County Bomb Team responded.

A bomb team member in protective equipment entered the attic and, using a forklift and pallet borrowed from Montana Machine and Fabrication, lowered the explosives from the attic and moved them to the ground.

Some amount of the explosives remained in the attic mixed with vermiculite. To deal with both the sticks and the residual explosive, charges were set on the box and in the attic.

At about 2 p.m. Tuesday, with a suppressive spray of water on the roof of the building, the charges were detonated. A small brush fire started by the box exploding was extinguished and the attic explosion caused very little damage and no fire.

The building will be demolished and removed at a later date.