City of Las Vegas recently issued the following announcement.
For the past 40 years, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue has operated the only public safety agency bomb squad in Southern Nevada.
Responding to more than 100 explosive-type incidents each year, the team also has responded to other counties in Southern Nevada, California and Arizona.
Here are some important facts about the Bomb Squad:
- Only public safety bomb squad for all of Southern Nevada, providing counter-IED and bomb squad mutual aid response to Northern Nevada and to our bordering states of California, Arizona and Utah.
- FEMA Type 1 Bomb Squad.
- Each member of the unit is a sworn Special Deputy - U.S. Marshal and member of the FBI - WMD Joint Terrorism Task Force.
- Our accredited bomb squad is in the minority as a fire department-based bomb squad. Roughly 8% of the 466 authorized public safety bomb squads are fire department based.
- Our bomb squad commander has a coveted seat on the National Bomb Squad Commander’s Advisor Board (NBSCAB), elected by the U.S. Bomb Squad Commanders (a first for fire department-based bomb squads). NBSCAB oversees all 466 current bomb squads, which is the entire U.S. Bomb Squad program.
- All members are Nevada POST sworn category 1 peace officers.
- All members are emergency medical technicians/paramedics.
- All members on the unit are FBI-certified Bomb Technicians who train out of the FBI – HDS (Hazardous Device School) in Huntsville, Alabama, and operate under the same guidelines nationally set forth by NBSCAB.
- The unit has been an organized bomb squad with Las Vegas Fire & Rescue for more than 48 years.
- They routinely work and train hand in hand with other local, military and federal agencies to include, but not limited to: FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals, USAF EOD, NV National Guard CST and Secret Service, along with all law enforcement agencies within our response area.
- 13 members total time in service to Las Vegas Fire & Rescue is 284.5 years, with an average length of service of 21.8 years.
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