Bomb Unit
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Bomb and Hazardous Device Disposal Unit is responsible for the response and recovery of military ordnance and suspicious packages found in over 1,700 sq. miles with a population of approximately two million residents in Montgomery, Bucks and Chester Counties. The Unit of seven bomb technicians assists local, state and federal agencies.
The bomb unit is accredited by the FBI and is the 25th busiest out of 466 units in the country according to the National Bomb Squad Commander Advisory Board. Some of the unit's training exercises and community service work has been featured in local news media and the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigator’s professional magazine, The Detonator.
Bomb technicians must complete six weeks of initial training at the FBI Hazardous Devices School in Huntsville, Alabama and 120 hours per year of additional training each year, including specialized training with the Philadelphia Police Department Bomb Disposal Unit, and monthly in-service training and collaborative mock simulation exercises with other agencies.
The bomb unit also has a strong community outreach program. The unit hosts as-needed environmentally safe ammo burns of old recovered ammunition from residents. The unit has also loaned old equipment to local school robotics programs, built beeping Easter eggs for visually impaired children, and assisted middle school students with a unique exploding pots project.