Pueblo bomb squad on track for most emergency calls ever

The Pueblo Metro Bomb Squad is on pace to break a record for emergency calls.

This year so far, the team has responded to 50 calls, last year they had 97 all together.

Michael O’Rourke, who lives in Pueblo West, will never forget the day when the bomb squad collected 13 explosives last February at a home near him.

“I thought if something was going off, I would be in trouble,” he said.

Fast forward more than a year later, the bomb squad is busier than ever. The team is on pace to surpass 100 emergency calls this year, the most ever.

“I think it is just people being more aware and situations all over the country and the world. I think people start to look around their area and want to make sure they are keeping their community safe,” Bomb Squad Cmdr. Dustin Taylor said.

The bomb squad has collected several different explosives like dynamite, rocket launchers and mortars.

Taylor said anytime the team responds to an emergency call where there is a suspicious item, there’s always concern because the team doesn’t know what it is going to get.

“Always, we have to make sure that we are not only keeping ourselves safe but the community safe,” he said.

Taylor said even though there is fear, all his team can do is train and prepare for emergency situations to keep O’Rourke and others safe.

The bomb squad doesn’t respond to robo-calls unless an item is found.

The squad covers calls in more than 15 counties in southern Colorado.