The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Bomb squad called following discovery
Worker discovers live hand grenade inside wall while renovating MOL house.
A Mentor-on-the-Lake homeowner doing some renovation work May 27 found a live hand grenade inside a wall there, prompting police, fire and Lake County Bomb Squad response, Mentoron-the-Lake police confirmed May 28.
According to MOLPD Sgt. Scott Daubenmire, reached by phone may 28, police were called to the scene about 3:15 p.m. May 27 after the grenade “fell out of the wall” during the new owner’s renovation project.
The sergeant said the grenade, which was live and had explosive potential, still had the pin in it.
“The bomb squad was called in,” he said. “They removed the device from the scene and detonated it.”
Daubenmire said the house, located in the 5500 block of Walnut Street, had been unoccupied for a couple years before its present owner began working to refurbish it. He added that there won’t be any criminal charges and that there’s no further investigation ongoing.
“The (bomb squad’s) explosive-detection dog investigated the residence thoroughly and did not detect any other explosives on site,” the sergeant said, adding that the device was detonated at the bomb squad’s facility in eastern Lake County after its members cleared the scene.
Daubenmire said he was first dispatched to the scene about 3:15 p.m. and cleared about 5:30 p.m. He said the Mentoron-the-Lake Fire Department was staged nearby for the duration of the incident investigation.
He also took the opportunity, in light of the situation, to remind folks never to investigate anything like this themselves.
“I’d like to issue a warning to readers,” he said May 28. “If anything like this ever happens to them, leave the device alone and call the bomb squad.”
He said the incident provided a good opportunity for citizens to be aware that, even if an explosive device — a hand grenade, artillery shell or any other type of explosive ordnance — appears to be inert, it’s never safe to take matters into their own hands and do any kind of further investigation.
“We just want people to know that these devices are dangerous and they should leave them alone and let authorities get in there and make the determination as to whether it’s live or inert,” he said. “Even if they’re sure it’s a dummy, let the proper authorities make that determination.”
The U.S. Department of Defense website’s 3Rs (Recognize, Retreat, Report) Explosives Safety Education Program web page includes practical advice and information regarding how to deal with unexploded ordnance — or UXO — for kids and families, members of the military and their families, communities and workers.
“No matter what you call it — ammo, explosives, UXO, duds or souvenirs — remember munitions are dangerous and can explode if approached, touched, moved or disturbed,” the web page reads. “By visiting this website, learning and following the 3Rs (Recognize, Retreat, Report) of Explosives Safety, you will help protect yourself, your family, friends and community from the potential dangers associated with the presence of munitions.”
The Mentor-on-theLake Police Department’s Daubenmire said it’s up to individuals who do come across these potentially explosive devices to contact the proper authorities immediately to help avoid what could easily become not only a household, but also a community disaster.