Real or fake, bomb scares taken seriously
The device in Buena Vista believed to be an explosive Tuesday wasn’t harmful, but authorities took the threat seriously.
The Regional Explosives Unit responds to threats like these in five different counties. Supervisor Chris Arseneau said if something looks like a bomb, they treat it like a bomb.
“We set up proper evacuations and perimeters to keep the citizens safe, and we take all of our standard precautions as if it was a live device, because we don’t know,” he said. “It wasn’t us that built it.”
Arseneau said the unit has multiple techniques to determine if a suspicious device is dangerous or not. In Tuesday’s incident in Buena Vista, they used an X-ray. Harmless or not, Arseneau said bomb scares like these are an inconvenience for people in the area and could even be risky if nursing home residents or hospital patients need to be evacuated.
He also said there isn’t a specific reason why someone would make a real or fake bomb. It could be anything from a hoax to a dry run.
“It’s always a possibility, and it’s something we prepare for and train for,” Arseneau said.
He reminds the public that making and placing a hoax device is a felony.
