Wilmington Police Bomb Squad breaks down the ‘vitally important’ job they do
The Wilmington Police Department Bomb Squad is comprised of seven members and is a Cape Fear Regional Special Team so they're on call 24/7 and will respond to calls anywhere in the region.
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Wilmington Police Department Bomb Squad is comprised of seven members and is a Cape Fear Regional Special Team so they’re on call 24/7 and will respond to calls anywhere in the region.
Aside from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, the next closest bomb squad is all the way in Fayetteville. Squad Commander Sergeant Ray Metcalf says the squad’s main goal is keeping people safe.
“We respond anywhere that we’re requested to go. It’s vitally important because you never know what kind of explosive incident there may be,” Metcalf said. “What we do not want is the general public or an officer walking up to a potentially explosive device and getting themselves hurt.”
Metcalf says most police departments do not have a bomb squad because it’s expensive to maintain and the training is extensive. Each member of the team spends six weeks in Alabama to train through the FBI’s Hazardous Devices School. After that training is complete, the squad trains at least twice per month back at home.
“We take a lot of pride in the fact that we are highly trained to do all sorts of different problems and we like to tackle those problems and make sure the general public, our fellow officers, or other public safety folks are safe,” Metcalf said.
The squad utilizes several gadgets and tools to investigate materials and disarm devices, including Shelia the robot. Shelia can be controlled remotely from the truck or in the field using battery power. The robot gives the team another option before heading out to investigate a potentially hazardous device wearing the 95lb bomb suit. However, Sergeant Metcalf says during their six-week training course they wear it a lot, so they get used to working in it.
Just last month, the squad was called to remove hazardous materials from the Wilmington Railroad Museum. While Shelia was used for some of the operation, the materials removed required a different type of removal so a bomb technician went inside wearing the suit and used other tools to remove them by hand.
Another very important member of the team is bomb dog, Marian. She can sniff out explosives, firearms, and other hazardous materials.
It’s a job the members of the team volunteer for. It comes with a lot of risks and requires problem-solving under pressure. Sergeant Metcalf says everything they do is done slowly and methodically to make sure everyone is safe as possible and that it’s done correctly.
