Safety Message from Porter County Bomb Squad

The Porter County Sheriffs Office has issued a news release advising residents to call the local jurisdiction if a citizen finds anything that resembles a military ordnance. Sheriffs Police say there has been a recent increase of calls for service of citizens locating explosives in the past few years, whether by accident or intentionally, for example, using a metal detector to locate objects underwater. The Porter County Bomb Squad responded Saturday to an explosion in Lakes of the Four Seasons in which police say one person died after a military hand grenade detonated after being found amongst a family member’s belongings. The Bomb Squad is comprised of four technicians and four non-technicians from the Porter County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Portage Police and Indiana Department of Natural Resources and handles calls for service for seven counties, Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Starke, Jasper, Newton, and Pulaski, averaging approximately 30 calls for service per year. “Often veterans bring items home from their service / tour of duty – sometimes they are inert, but some are live explosives. Items that may be considered family heirlooms could contain hazardous energetic material. In addition, if an explosive is found underwater, this does not mean it cannot detonate – many military ordnances are waterproof,” the news release said.