By Gary C. Kuncl

How many of us bought Safe N’ Sane fireworks for our kids this Fourth of July? Did you know that sparklers and Piccolo Petes can be made into deadly explosives? Moreover, a plastic water bottle containing a mixture of pool chemicals and rubbing alcohol can become a deadly hand thrown bomb. Let’s face it, such facts aren’t high on your radar. But perhaps they should be—especially if you are a peace officer.

Two dedicated fire investigators are going to great lengths to inform law enforcement and fire personnel about the dangers of domestic improvised explosive devices—how to recognize them and how to, or should we say how not to, treat them. This is also a story of cooperation among the diverse and talented arson and explosive investigators in this region and state.

Frank Furtaw of the City of Tulare Fire Department has four years of experience investigating explosions and fires of questionable origin. He also has seventeen years of experience as a Tulare County Deputy Sheriff and a Tulare City Police Officer.

Scotty Baker is pretty much “Mr. Arson and Explosives” in this state. Retired as a California State Fire Marshal, Arson/Bomb investigator, Baker continues to be a mentor to many arson and bomb investigators.

Furtaw and Baker work together to produce an eye-opening, ear-splitting eight-hour training course on the recognition and identification of domestic improvised explosive devices commonly referred as being “homemade bombs.” On May 16, the Central Valley Arson Investigators hosted its fourth annual Advanced Explosive Recognition.

Furtaw and Baker, with help from numerous other investigators, first offered this course for forty-five students in 2006, at the International Agri-Center in Tulare. The numbers have increased each time they offer the course. In fact, 166 people participated in the May 2009 offering, and the reviews have been excellent.

“We wanted to teach everyone what different explosive devices looked like, how to establish a safe perimeter, and most importantly to contact the bomb squad on all suspected devices rather than mess with a device themselves,” Furtaw explained. “Otherwise, they risk being killed or maimed.”

In the latest course, Harry Hatch, a retired Arson/Bomb Investigator from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, laid out a technical foundation in the morning. Then, Furtaw and Baker coordinated the demonstrations for the rest of the day. They are active members of the Central Valley Arson Investigators’ Association (CVAI). Members of CVAI played a significant role in the weeks prior to the event and during the demonstrations.

The logistics of this course are daunting. Baker and Furtaw begin at least a year in advance, gathering the equipment, the vehicles, and other props to be blown-up. Safety is key and consideration must be taken with everything used.

In last year’s course, when students suggested demonstrating explosive effects on an airplane, Furtaw went to work.

Consider the airplane as evidence of Furtaw’s ability to make things happen. After some searching, he learned of a derelict aircraft at the Visalia Airport. After some research, the owner of the aircraft was contacted and he agreed to donate it to be used in the live fire demonstration. To get the intact plane to the Tulare International Agri-Center 20 miles to the south, Furtaw made numerous phone calls, promises of future favors, and calling of “markers.” He procured a semi-tractor with a “low boy” trailer and approvals from five different agencies to move the airplane along public roadways. Prior to the ultimate demise of the aircraft, the Visalia Police Bomb Squad had the opportunity to use the plane to conduct training exercises.

Furtaw and Baker followed students’ suggestions again, and brought in a school bus for the latest course. Bus bombings are commonplace in the Middle East; and it could easily happen here. As with the aircraft, the logistics were complex and required many helpers.

The demonstrations progress from small and simple to large and complex. In the demonstration session of the latest course, the “small and simple” consisted of plastic water bottles containing various types of common pool chemicals combined with common household items. Mixed properly, these devices are capable of maiming a person or even causing a fatality. All of the materials needed to construct one of these devices are easily obtained “over the counter.”

Next, a device constructed of sparklers ignited inside a standard mailbox shredded it and sent pieces 20 feet into the air. An even more powerful effect resulted from pyrotechnic powder taken from several Safe N’ Sane Piccolo Pete fireworks. Mailbox pieces flew three times as far. “The mailboxes used are made of steel, it is important for students to witness the explosive power of these easily made explosive devices,” Furtaw explained.

From there, several various types of pipe bombs were set off including a black powder pipe bomb in a Ford Probe. Smoke and flames filled the interior, while concussion sent the windshield—intact—at least 120 feet into the air. The interior was left a scrambled mess of wire, metal, and plastic pieces. Remarkably, all four tires were still in place and undamaged.

The school bus demonstration was the most impressive. A child’s backpack was placed in the center of the full-size and fully equipped school bus. The backpack was only partially filled with a commercial explosive, Ammonium Nitrate and Fuel Oil (ANFO). Furtaw noted that there was so little ANFO used that it would have easily fit into a lunch pail.

The flames came first. Participants saw the firestorm fill the interior and cover the exterior of the bus. Then came the sound. From a quarter of a mile away, a thunderous Kaboom rolled across the dirt. Then there was a pressure wave that observers felt right in their chests. Incredibly, the bus was still upright afterward—albeit with a 15-foot hole in the center. No one at the site failed to realize that every passenger in that school bus would have been killed instantly.

Furtaw emphasized, “In a Post 9/11 society, it is imperative that we educate all of our first responders on how to recognize and identify various types of explosives. All students are instructed to call the bomb squads in their respective jurisdictions on any found suspicious or suspected explosives. No student was taught to disarm, tamper with, move, or annoy any suspected explosive device.”

Furtaw and Baker are encouraged by the number and diversity of participants. In addition to most local agencies, participants come from as far away as San Diego and Encinitas, Alameda and Berkeley, and Milpitas and Hamilton City. The next course is scheduled for May 8, 2010.