Bomb Squads 101 Information for Writers

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(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

EXCERPT FROM MISSING LYNX - Book Two

We watched the monitor closely; the robot stood flush with the case. A pincer reached out to twirl the locking system, using the combination that I had uncovered while behind the Veil. The mechanical arm moved with amazing dexterity, slowly releasing the catch, retrieving the papers and files. Axel wiggled the toggle and the robot zipped back to us with the booty. Again Axel maneuvered the machine to the case. The robot sent a video image to our laptop; I studied the screen until I could show Axel where the concealed latch protected the hidden compartment. We all held our breath while Axel maneuvered the motorized claw to release the hook. 

***

The following information was gathered from bomb squad members that I met at this year's Writers' Police Academy. Because of their undercover work, neither their names nor images can be used in this article. A bomb squad member is also called an EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) Technician. All EOD Techs come through the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama where they undergo an intensive 6 week training session.
* There are at least two people per responding team.
* Typically this team prefers nine members
* On this team, the EOD techs have other police duties and leave those duties to respond to bomb threats.

The Suit

Bomb Protective Suit is a little bit of a misnomer. Though it can help; it will not actually keep someone alive under all circumstances. What makes a difference in survivability?
* How close is the officer?
* How big is the blast? The concussion of the blast can be as deadly as the shrapnel.
* At five feet from the bomb survivability increases by 50%

I am all suited up at the Writers' Police Academy 2013

I'd explain this to you, but then I'd...  EOD Suit WPA 2013

 VIDEO QUICK STUDY - suit and safety features (2:54)
THE SUIT

*Is made of various materials including Kevlar to prevent penetration and ceramic plates to help disperse the

Suit Components WPA 2012

  blast concussion.
* Cost? aprox 75k
* The suit weighs approximately 85-100 lbs.
   35 lbs for the trousers
   35 lbs. for the jacket
   8 lbs. for the helmet
   And boots.
   This suits allows little in the way of dexterity and
    agility. More armor might increase protection 
    but make movement impossible.
   (Though this guy is going to prove me wrong: VIDEO QUICK STUDY - dancing in a EOD suit 2:17)
   * The helmet includes a fan unit to help prevent  humidity from building up inside of the visor. But
      does not cool the person inside.
   * The suit has no cooling unit - considering the  weight of the suit, the body response to adrenaline and 
       physical activity, and the ambient temperature a bomb technician has about a twenty minute window
       of operational opportunity. 
   * If there is a possibility of a contaminant or bio-hazard, the team members have access to special suits
      that incorporate oxygen tanks (SCBA Self-contained Breathing Apparatus). These tanks add to the
      weight and loss of agility. These usually have about 45 minutes of air. That time period must include time 
      to "decon" (decontaminate).

TOOLS-
VIDEO QUICK STUDY - Tools in use (3:53)
1. Telescopic manipulator - has a claw allowing a technician to work from a safer distance.
2. Ordinance disposal tools - the one we saw was approx. 35 lbs and could shoot the bomb. Also, there
    are:
   * robots with hooks, arms, car door openers, etc.
   * water jet disruptors

A Belgian Malinois of a police K-9 unit. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   * laser aiming devices, and so forth.
3. Remote viewing systems that might include
  * Borescopes
  * Videoscopes
  * Fiberscopes
  * X-ray technology 
4. Disruptors - can open up the package.
5. Bomb Detection Dogs
    VIDEO QUICK STUDY (2:32) 
   * Dogs are typically taught to sit or lie down when
      they detect the scent.
   * Typically they are rewarded with a ball
   * Dogs are trained to the base component of
      explosives. Once they have these components
      any combination will trigger an alert. Dogs smell
      differently than humans if a human smells "stew," a
       dog  smells carrots, and beef and onion, etc.

WPA 2013 That's my scary  backpack.
 I named the robot  "Molly," because she needed a name.

6. Robots - 
   * Cost? Approx 125K and up
   * Depending on model, these are around 44 lbs.
   * VIDEO QUICK STUDY (3:41) 
     THIS IS EXCELLENT
   * Major issue is depth perception. That's
      why these techs practice, practice,
      practice.
   * Information is transmitted via wireless to
      the  HAZMAT truck

ASSESS, ASSESS, ASSESS
Video Quick Study British EOD Tech talking about the "Long Walk" and assessment  (2:38)
For a bomb to go off there need to be three components:

1. Battery

2. Switch

3. High Explosive Charge

Disrupt any of these and you render the bomb inoperable.

Basic Techniques

(Techniques are kept secret so as not to train the attacker in better ways to succeed)
VIDEO QUICK STUDY - Suspicious Package Investigation (9:02)
1. Determine that there is a possible event. In the case of the technicians I was interviewing, most of their
    calls come from people who have found dynamite, or war souvenirs (WWII from granddad) and not
    from actual concerns about a bomb.

WPA 2013 Bomb Extraction Truck

2. Bring in the team and their trucks
   * Mobile Headquarters with gear also called
      HAZMAT Truck
   * Containment Truck
   * EMTs and fire
3. Clear the area to ensure the public's safety
   * Set up equipment this might include tenting if
      they believe bio-hazardous materials were
      used.
4. Suit up
5. Develop intelligence
   * They cannot use radio communication because it could set off the bomb.
6. Formulate a plan
7. Work the plan and leave.
   * If they are exploding something they yell, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" three times.
   * Exploding the object is called "disrupting the device."
   * Counter Charge - means to put another explosive device on top of the suspected bomb and blow it up
   * Video Quick Study (4:50)

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Flight Club - Interview with Author/Pilot Wayne Epperson

____________________________

Fiona- 

Hi there!

Wayne -

Good afternoon.

Fiona -

It's pouring down rain with some magnificent thunder here - how are things in Texas?

Wayne - 

The heat index is going to hit 104 or so. Hot and dry.

Fiona - 

As a Canadian girl, can I just say that I only go visit my in-laws down in Longview at Christmas for a reason? So you're dry and hot - LOL what else should my blog readers know about you, Wayne?

Map to indicate Texas for my non-American readers

Wayne - 

Not much interesting to tell. Former U.S. Marine, long-time newspaper editor, private pilot, author of two crime fiction books with a third one due out in October.

Fiona - 

Now see, when you say, "not much interesting to tell" - I think you're going to drone on Babbitt-like about your work-a-day life, and then you sound like the heart-throb in a Texas western.that okay? 

Wayne - 

Getting up off the floor and dusting myself off. I wasn't expecting that.

Fiona -

Ha! Well today we're talking about flying.

What makes you crazy to read about planes or plane crashes that is just flat out wrong?

Wayne -

When someone says, "the plane just fell out of the sky." That doesn't happen. There's a sequence of failures, man-made or mechanical or both, that take place before a plane crashes. Here's an example:
A pilot approaching an airport to land turns from downwind to base and fails to maintain proper airspeed will likely stall the aircraft when banking to final approach. That stall leads to a spin too close to the ground to recover a safe altitude. The end result is the aircraft noses over and crashes. To a witness on the ground, it might look like the plane just fell out of the sky.

Fiona- 

And to the pilot it looks like his life is flashing before his eyes?

Wayne - 

No, he probably left a big smoking hole in the ground. Lights out.


VIDEO QUICK STUDY 747 Falling Out of the Sky (1:09)

Fiona - 

Have you ever had a close call?

Wayne - 

Not really close, but one time the engine cut out when I reduced power at altitude after takeoff. I simply pushed the throttle full forward, the engine returned to life, and I landed that sucker as fast as I could.


Fiona - 

Bravo!

Wayne -

The mechanic was happy to have the business.

Fiona -
Ha! Okay since you brought up plane crashes. It was posted on
a writers' board recently that an editor was insisting that the author have a huge fire in the cockpit after the plane crashed. Can you weigh in?

Wayne -  

Fire is the most feared thing for a pilot. Because, in flight, the oxygen from the rushing air will fan the flames. A pilot faced with that emergency will seek to land quickly. Following a crash, there could be a fire in the cockpit.

I recall a local training flight in the Dallas area where the student pilot, who was accompanied by an instructor, was forced to land because of mechanical failure. He chose to land in a plowed farm field, the fuel line ruptured spilling gasoline on the heated engine, and a fire ensued. They escaped with major burns.

Fiona - 

Wow! Horrific! Good for them escaping. I guess now they have a great bar story if that's any consolation.

Wayne - 

The aircraft was a four-seat trainer. The airlines are a different story. They have so many safety systems and redundant systems that make a cockpit fire less likely. 

Fiona - 
Link to information about small aircraft fires. 

What do you fly?

Wayne- 

I fly single-engine land puddle jumpers.

Fiona - 

And does Frank Knott from Crime and Corruption in Texas fly as well?

LINK to Crime and Corruption in Texas

Wayne - 

No, but his former Marine Corps buddy did.

Fiona - 

This is the one who was a good -guy turned not so good guy?

Wayne - 

And he did a lot of bad things behind the control wheel of a powerful Cessna twin-engine hauler.

Fiona - 

Would it be giving away too much if I asked what he was up to?

Wayne - 

Let's just say he was in a sort of pharmaceutical business. 

Fiona - 

LOL okay we'll go with that. What made you decide to get your pilot's license and can you tell us what it takes in terms of study and practice?

Wayne - 

I tried to be a pilot in the Marines, but was disqualified because I am partially color blind, a condition not uncommon for men. The Navy frowns on pilots not knowing which colors are which when they are told to "call the ball" on approach to an aircraft 

carrier deck. 

I finally scraped up the money to pay for my training as a civilian

private pilot where the color restrictions are not so severe. 

It takes a minimum of 40 hours of training before a student pilot can take a check ride with an FAA licensed examiner. It took me

something like 50 hours, which included a solo cross-country flight to an airport about 90 miles away. What did my training cost? I will

never put that number in writing.

Once the check ride is passed, the new pilot then really begins to learn what it means to be a pilot. The lessons never end. 

LINK to FAA information on becoming a pilot

I just thought of another situation that is irksome.

Fiona -

Yes, please.

Wayne - 

Many fatal accidents of small aircraft involve bad weather. 

There was a case in East Texas a year or so ago where a family

of four was wiped out in a crash because the pilot father flew into

weather he was unable to navigate. He was not instrument rated

(trained to fly in the clouds) and his plane was not capable. 

That was a classic case of pilot error.

Fiona - 

Thank you - that makes sense. And from what my husband tells me of Texas weather, it can be unpredictable and violent.

Link to small airplane crash information

Wayne - 

He's right. Another pet peeve is the writer being too lazy to research the type of aircraft involved in whatever kind of story. Too many times the reference is simply, "a Cessna private plane crashed." And the aircraft was a Bonanza. That drives a pilot nuts ... if he isn't already there.

Fiona - 

Ha! In my book, MISSING LYNX, I got to go to the airport and get on all the small planes to figure out which one I wanted to steal - I mean my character wanted to steal. Apparently, plane theft isn't all that hard to do.

Wayne - 

All airports have signs posted about reporting suspicious activities in and around the hangers or the tie-downs. Aircraft theft is a big business.

Fiona - 

Well, they are darned expensive. This is the part of the interview where you have a decision to make.

     1) You can tell me about your favorite scar. 

Or 2) you can tell me about your upcoming book.

Or 3) you can do both. 

Wayne - 

Frank Knott walked away from "Chasing Bad Guys" with a memorable scar, but we don't want to describe it here. 

The third book in the series is entitled "EPIC Justice." Frank goes

undercover at the El Paso Intelligence Center to find out who has been tipping off a powerful crime syndicate about smuggling opportunities on the border. Readers will be urging Frank to quit and go home, but there's no back up in this former Marine.

Fiona -

I'm posting a picture of your plane. 

Wayne at the controls of his Piper Cherokee 5398W

Wayne - 

I sold my plane. :'(

Fiona - 

Oh, now that's just pitiful. LOL. COWBOY UP!

Wayne - 

Your husband's from Texas? How did you end up in D.C.? And how's the ankle?

Fiona - 

Ah, the reporter in you is turning the tables. I wondered how long 

it would take. Thank you so much for being a guest here on ThrillWriting.

Wayne - 

Take care ... As pilots always say, "Good day."

Fiona - 

Why do they say that and not "sunny skies" or "safe landings"?

Wayne - 

Good day covers it all ... 

Fiona Quinn's Newsletter Link, Sign up HERE

Thank you so much for stopping by. And thank you for your support. When you buy my books, you make it possible for me to continue to bring you helpful articles and keep ThrillWriting free and accessible to all.