Peterson EOD responds to Denver suburb, defuses explosive situation

EOD

Airmen from the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Division responded to a Denver suburb Sept. 28 to defuse a live grenade found among the property of a recently deceased World War II veteran. The response was at the request of the Arapahoe County Bomb Squad and part of Peterson's mutual aid agreement with area emergency responders. While responding or diffusing ordnance, EOD members wear suits than can weigh as much as 75 pounds. (Air Force photo by Roberta McDonald)

Published Oct. 1, 2009
By Tech. Sgt. Ray Bowden
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- The Peterson explosive ordnance disposal team defused a potentially explosive situation in Denver Sept. 28.

21st Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight Airmen responded to the Denver suburb of Centennial, Colo., to destroy a World War II-era grenade found by a relative of a recently deceased World War II veteran. The response was at the request of the Arapahoe County Bomb Squad and part of Peterson's mutual aid agreement with area emergency responders.

The Arapahoe County Bomb Squad was first to respond, but after determining the ordnance was of military origin, contacted Peterson's EOD.

"Anytime a civilian bomb squad receives a report that military ordnance has been found, they contact the nearest military installation," said Master Sgt. Harold Singleton, 21st CES EOD.

Staff Sgt. Tyson Johnson, 21st CES EOD was one of the EOD technicians to respond and said that the team evaluated the grenade to determine if it was "live," transported it to a disposal site and successfully destroyed it by detonating it with C-4, a plastic explosive commonly used in demolition charges.

"This type of response is common," said Sergeant Johnson. "With a lot of the World War II vets dying lately, these incidents have been occurring quite a bit."

Recently, Airmen from the 316th CES EOD team at Andrews Air Force Base responded to a request for help when more than 1,000 rounds of small arms, mortars and grenades were found on the property of a Carroll County, Md., resident who had passed away.

Sergeant Johnson said that any interaction with the civilian EOD technicians is always welcome.

"A lot of civilian EOD are ex-Army, ex-Air Force, ex-military," said Sergeant Johnson. "The more eyes you have on scene to think about safety, the better the situation is."