FOX5 takes an inside look at Las Vegas Fire & Rescue’s bomb squad
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Responding to over hundreds of calls every year, using the latest and greatest tools and technology the team is able to detect and get rid of deadly devices within the community.
They are a dynamite team serving all of southern Nevada.
“We are a full-time bomb squad,” said chief of fire investigations for city of Las Vegas and bomb squad Shon Saucedo.
And that is not all.
“We do wear a second hat as fire investigators for the city of Las Vegas,” said Saucedo.
The team is made up of 13 certified FBI bomb techs all went to the same hazardous device school in Alabama always willing and ready to respond.
“When it comes to the public safety bomb squads is all the types of devices we look at, they are all improvised devices so that is our specialty,” said Saucedo.
Saucedo said one of the most impressive things about the team is wearing their protective gear that when fully suited can weigh anywhere from 70 to one hundred pounds.
“We have them climb the burnt tower and pick a penny off of the ground,” said Captain Richard Brooks for the bomb squad. “The hardest thing, believe it or not is what we call the turtle. Once you get blown on your back, roll over and getting back up. You have all this weight on the front for protection and very little on the back. The new generation of our suits are all smart suits. So, we actually talk through the helmet, and it has voice recognition. We have different ways to control all the tools on our suits. We have lights and we are lucky we have fans and being in the desert that is a big help.”
Brooks talked about if the suits are completely bombproof.
“There are circumstances where if it is a big enough boom, it is not going to do much for you but they do a very good job of deflecting the blast,” said Brooks.
The bomb squad uses many different tools when it comes to investigating bombs and suspicious packages. Robots being one of them.
“One is set up for visual, the other is set up for weapons platform and it actually has lasers on it as well,” said Saucedo.
“The larger robots have been around for 15 years. Their mini robots they use have four cameras on it. It is often used to go inside of homes, buses, and airplanes.
“It is a great little tool,” said Brooks. “It does a lot for a small robot. It fills a niche that we had that we know we needed to get filled.”
The larger robot is often used as the main weaponizer.
“These are basically like a heavy-duty gauge shot-gun barrel that we have different projectiles and substances we can use to deal with packages,” said Brooks.
The team also has the ability to use x-ray machinery to see what is inside of a package.
“They mainly are robot platforms,” said Brooks. “We process them in this machine and these laptops, and we have the capability to put this image in different monitors around the truck so different command staff can see what we are dealing with.”
Saucedo said they respond to about five calls a month and most are not related to terrorism.
“A lot of the times it could be a college student,” said Saucedo. “They may function or build devices and they don’t function as they were designed or intended for them to go off and that is when it becomes our problem.”
When responding to calls Saucedo shared how he stays calm and collected.
“I think everyone gets into their zone,” said Saucedo. “We don’t get tunnel vision because we still have to keep that situational awareness of everything going on around us.”
Saucedo said they don’t just detonate things as this could get rid of any evidence.
“With today’s technology and the evolution and we are really fortunate here in Nevada and our team, we have some of the latest and greatest tools and technology and we are able to safe render most devices and keeping them all intact,” said Saucedo.
And to keep up with the latest technology and innovations, Saucedo said they train daily and have required training monthly.
“Sometimes it is 20 wires, and they are all purple,” said Saucedo. “So, the skill set of the bomb techs that we have and the type of training that we have is continuous and it does not end.”
The bomb squad for Las Vegas fire and rescue was established in 1974.
It is responsible for all of Clark County, Lincoln, and Nye County.
The bureau investigates all fires within the city of Las Vegas jurisdiction when an injury or death occurs, or is identified as an arson, or city property of any value is damaged due to fire. If the investigation is determined to involve a criminal element, an investigator takes on the case as the primary officer from the arrest to trial.
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