Explosives Found in Dover Township

Katie Boyer
kb213806@ohio.edu

The Columbus Bomb Squad and the Chauncey Fire Department were called to Dover Township on Monday afternoon to handle about 2,000 sticks of dynamite. The old dynamite was found in an abandoned concrete building off Carr Bailey Road just outside of Chauncey.

Blocked Off
Local volunteer firefighters blocked off the road at the intersection of Carr Bailey and Big Bailey Roads at approximately 2:00 in the afternoon. The roads were closed on both ends of Carr Bailey, and that they were only allowing locals to enter the area.

A student at Athens High School informed Principal Mike Meek that he found the dynamite inside the building while walking through the woods. Meek immediately contacted Detective Jack Taylor of the Athens County Sheriff’s Office. Taylor brought the student along to point out exactly where the building was and where the explosives were found.

After seeing the sticks of dynamite coming out of old, worn boxes, he called for backup to secure the scene and asked that the Columbus Bomb Squad come down to assist them.


Lots of Dynamite
Nineteen boxes of explosives were found in the building, each containing around 100 sticks of dynamite. The building off Carr Bailey Road is said to be an old mining area. The writing on the boxes contained the same information as the dynamite approved by U.S.Bureau of Mines. Information was released Tuesday that the building was designed to house explosives, and that over time, it was never fully cleared out.

Local Reaction
While waiting for the fire chief department, a local resident stopped to speak with the firefighters, and he told us that the owner of the building knew the dynamite was there. He said the owner purchased the land about five years ago, but that the dynamite had been there for around 50 years.


Another passerby was on her way to pick up her children from her mother’s house, but the firefighters would not let her pass through. She was concerned for the safety of her children, and was unsure of why the roads were blockaded at all. We explained to her what little information we knew, and she told us that there are several old concrete buildings on Carr Bailey, but that she had no idea any of them contained explosive materials.

After talking to several locals who were trying to travel on Carr Bailey, few seemed concerned about the explosives. Many seemed to know that the dynamite had been there for years and were not concerned that any type of explosion would result because of the age of the dynamite.

Not Dangerous
When the bomb squad arrived, they determined that the explosives were not active, but they did proceed to burn all the dynamite within the building to secure the area. The explosives appeared to have originated from Pennsylvania, but their exact age is not known. Detective Taylor did say though that the sticks appeared to be very old.

About three hours after the road was blocked off, Chief Dan Brown said the building was cleared out. "At this time they're currently burning, they put diesel on the dynamite found in the building. They're currently burning it off so once it gets burned off and everythings secure it'll be cleaned up and we'll be done."


Chief Dan Brown updates information on the explosives.

There is no official word on who the property owner is, and what he knew about the dynamite.