The company was responsible for taking down 26 damaged buildings. "CDI was hired by the U.S. government as part of their disaster-relief effort. I grew up a lot in the two weeks I was down there, because I was exposed to so much devastation and tragedy."
Seattle's Kingdome
Not all of CDI's projects are born of tragedy. When Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, wanted to demolish the Kingdome in March 2000 to make room for a new stadium, "my father took the job out of pure pleasure," Loizeaux said.
"It's a one-of-a-kind structure, making it an interesting challenge. It was also enormous. It's in the Guinness book of world records for largest structure by volume ever demolished with explosives."
For Loizeaux, now a seasoned professional, this was also an opportunity to prove herself. "There is nothing, and I mean nothing, easy about being a woman in this industry," she explained. "When I started 13 years ago, I was young and blond and got a lot of name calling: things like sweetheart, dollface, daddy's little princess. I had a chip on my shoulder about it and worked double time to force people to respect me.
"But I learned that you can't make someone respect you. You can just do your job well, extremely well, and the respect comes naturally."
Planning the demolition of the Kingdome took two years. Four months before detonation, the physical work began: Five thousand nine hundred and five holes were drilled for explosives, and 22 miles (35 kilometers) of detonation cord were carefully placed, along with nearly 5,000 pounds (2,270 kilograms) of nitroglycerin-based dynamite.
"Seattle weather is less than kind, and we were frequently working in man-lifts as much as 220 feet (67 meters) tall. I'd be up in one of those, fully extended, with the wind rocking, rain in my face, laying explosives. It was tough work," Loizeaux said.
Earth Shaker
The simultaneous free fall of the 25,000-ton concrete roof alone would have created over 9 billion foot-pounds (12.2 billion joules) of energy. It would be a ground-shaking impact with the potential to cause widespread damage to nearby structures—damage that Loizeaux needed to prevent.
"We had to create a delay pattern to prevent the roof from hitting the ground at once," Loizeaux said. "We had thousands of different delays going off to separate all the explosions."
CDI also created earth berms: rows of soil and gravel standing 15 feet (4 meters) tall that lined the inside of the stadium. "As elements fell from the roof, it landed on these piles, which acted like cushions and spread out the impact."
March 26, 2000, was the day of demolition. "I was sitting at the blasting machine, and when I heard that countdown—five, four, three, two, one—what I saw overwhelmed me," Loizeaux said. "It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life, and I knew what to expect. It was like watching a force of nature, a hurricane, or tornado."
A Woman in the Ranks
With many big jobs successfully completed, Loizeaux's reputation is secured.
"She is one of the guys when she's at work. She's not at all afraid to get dirty, to get in there and get the work done," said Bill Moore, a vice president for Brandenburg Industrial Service, Inc., one of the largest demolition contractors in the world.
"We've done two projects with her, and in each she did a little bit of everything, from drilling holes and wiring explosives to getting out and doing public relations work."
Guys on the job stopped calling her dollface long ago. "And I've learned to discriminate," Loizeaux said. "I no longer care what every loading operator thinks when he sees me walk on a job."
"As long as he does his job, and I do mine, that's all that matters."
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