Corpus Christi Caller-Times
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Officers expect a new Corpus Christi bomb squad truck to improve how the department responds to threats while keeping technicians, often buried under heavy protection suits, comfortable.
The department acquired the $360,000 truck about two months ago with a federal grant, said Lt. James Brandon, who oversees the squad and its three technicians.
The truck’s paint job was finished last month, and officers have used it as a base of operations in about 12 incidents, Brandon said.
Its arrival has consolidated bomb squad operations from scattered boxes and other equipment across several cars and locations.
“This contains every piece of equipment we would need to respond to everything,” Brandon said.
Mounted on a heavy-duty diesel chassis, the vehicle is about the size of two ambulances. It’s air conditioned, has two awnings and is outfitted with enough food and water so technicians can be self-sufficient for up to three days in an extreme emergency.
At the most recent call last month, a suspicious bag that was marked with the handwritten word “BOOM” shut down an engine shop in Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.
Without the truck, officers would have had to guess what equipment was needed, pack it from different sources and hope they arrived with the right tools, Brandon said.
It’s that guessing that often slowed the squad down and made it less efficient.
The bag turned out to not be an explosive.
A remote camera can be extended more than 30 feet in the air from the top of the truck to scope out surroundings, and a powerful light grid rests on a smaller mount on top.
The squad’s bomb-handling robot, which previously was jacked to the back of a van for transport, now has its own storage area in the truck. A ramp folds down and the robot can be deployed in minutes.
Brandon declined to elaborate about the specific specifications of the truck, especially its interior, citing security concerns.
Because the equipment is consolidated, response times and overall service have increased, he said.
“Calls that used to take six or seven hours can now be cleared in two or three,” Brandon said.
The squad averages six to seven calls a month, he said, and often responds to calls out of the city helping other cities’ departments.
“The squad is extremely excited about this without a doubt,” said police Capt. David Cook. “It’s something that all departments want.”
Lt. James Brandon, who oversees the Corpus Christi Police Department bomb squad, said officers have used the new vehicle as a base of operations in about 12 incidents.
Copyright 2008 Corpus Christi Caller-Times