IED Awareness for First Responders and Civilians

(NOTE: Although the original title of this article was “IED Awareness for First Responders” I thought the content was equally relevant to the average civilian as well, which is the reason for my sub-title.-SF)

You are a first responder. You have received a call at a crowded local motel for a medical emergency. The manager unlocks the room and you enter to find a man unconscious on the floor. As you treat him, you notice something unusual. Around the room, you notice bottles of chemicals; acids, hydrogen peroxide, acetone, and other bottles of unknown liquids. You also notice a number of batteries on a table next to an electronic timer, dozens of nuts and bolts taped inside the lid of a briefcase, and half a dozen mason jars containing a clear liquid, and what appears to be white sediment. Then the kicker, you observe several small, silver, cylindrical objects with wires protruding from the ends labeled DANGER EXPLOSIVES on a nearby shelf. Your partner looks at you and says, “Well, well. What do we have here?”

That question has surely been asked many times by first responders who have stumbled upon bomb making operations in the course of their duties. Some might default to thinking they have walked into a meth lab due to the chemicals present. But the presence of certain items signals something perhaps more nefarious. In either case, I will say right now, if you should ever encounter something like this get out, secure the room, call the bomb squad and evacuate the premises. Read on, and you will discover why.

The intent of this article is to educate first responders on how to recognize the components of potential improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Without getting into too much detail, it provides a very basic understanding of IEDs.

In addition to the container, which can be anything from a shipping envelope to a backpack, briefcase or even a vehicle, there are four components to most IEDs. Remembering them is made easy by using the acronym PIES: Power, Initiator, Explosive and Switch. Power is self-explanatory. It provides the heat needed to initiate an explosion. Batteries are a good source of power as they allow the IED to be easily transported and remotely placed without tell-tale wires giving away its location.

Read the Original Article at Medium