Illustration by Be Fernández
On Opening Day, while tens of thousands of Reds-clad fans lined the Findlay Market parade route, teams of Cincinnati bomb squad firefighters discreetly made their way down the crowded sidewalks. They weren’t on high alert. They were just looking for anything that seemed out of place. Nothing was. Just smiling faces, excited kids, and another day making sure everyone got home safely.
The Cincinnati bomb squad, officially the Hazardous Device Response Unit, serves as a regional team, responding to calls in Northern Kentucky (including CVG) and Hamilton County.
The team is capable of responding to and handling a wide range of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive incidents. The unit can use a robot, call in the police department’s K9 unit, or don heavy protective gear to perform MacGyver-like magic. Sometimes, the most heroic task, says 12-year bomb squad veteran Rob Thomas, is simply calming people’s nerves.
He recalls a dash to a St. Vincent de Paul collection location where someone had dropped off a military souvenir. “The hero part is when you show up,” he says, “and you tell them, No, it’s fine. It’s not gonna blow up.”
Sometimes, though, the explosives could. While the unit can’t share details about its procedures, when the risk of explosion is real, the team follows precise protocol to neutralize threats, according to Clevon Dukes, a U.S. Air Force veteran finishing his second year on the squad.
Rich Ransick, a five-year squad veteran and former Marine, notes that each member is also a firefighter, operating Engine 14 out of the Central Avenue firehouse. He loves the danger both jobs bring. “I like being hands-on and technical,” he says. “And explosions are cool, right?”
What the bomb squad needs now are techs and space. Like many departments, the unit is feeling the impact of tech shortages. And you don’t just walk into the job. Federal law requires techs to complete a six-week course at an FBI training center in Alabama. The wait to get in can cost you a year.
The space the squad needs is a training facility, now that the South Cumminsville range has ceased detonation of explosives. Neighbors complained about the noise, so city council is looking for a new site. That’s a priority, the squad members agree, because in this line of work, you always need to be on your “A” game.
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