Police Sgt. explains controlled detonations of old ammunition

May 12, 2020 | Sarah Heinonen
sarah@thereminder.com

WEST SPRINGFIELD/WESTFIELD – Residents of West Springfield and Westfield heard explosions on the night of May 5, but rather than something to be concerned about, Sgt. Joseph LaFrance of the West Springfield Police Department (WSPD) said they were controlled detonations of old ammunition.

What began the day before as a standard request to take possession of weapons for safekeeping, became a potentially dangerous situation in which the state bomb squad was called.

The family of a recently deceased retired WSPD officer had asked the police department to secure the man's gun collection at his home at 30 Robinson Rd. in West Springfield until they decided what to do with the weapons.

LaFrance said the collection contained “at least 60 to 80 rifles and 50 to 60 handguns.”

Normally in these situations, weapons are taken to the detective bureau’s evidence room and logged in to be stored temporarily. If the family decides they do not want them, they are signed over to the police department and given to the state police for destruction.

While collecting the guns, LaFrance told Reminder Publishing, the police noticed old ammunition, gunpowder and “some sort of military grenade or mortar.” It was then that the officers called in the state bomb squad.

“It was all stable,” LaFrance said, although that was not known at the time. “It was not an active risk,” but it was not something with which the police were trained to handle.

“During the clean-out, the bomb squad discovered a large quantity of energetic material in a deteriorated state, believed to have been in the basement for years. Some of the containers were marked and some were not. A state Hazardous Materials Team responded to help identify the unknown chemicals. In addition, there was a large amount of ammunition, commercial fireworks, homemade M-class explosive devices and firework making materials,” the Department of Fire Services (DFS) said in a statement. The bomb squad is overseen by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Due to the unknown stability of the ammunition and homemade devices, the bomb squad moved to destroy the items immediately in the interest of public safety. Jennifer Mieth, public information officer for DFS, said it was not uncommon to detonate “energetic” munitions rather than transport or store them.

The devices and materials were taken three and a half miles away to the Lane Trap Rock quarry at 311 East Mountain Rd. in Westfield where they were detonated in a controlled manner.

LaFrance said that the site and the weapons that were collected are now secure and there is no risk to the public.

“It is important for anyone with such material in their home, to contact local authorities for assistance. Do not put yourselves, your family or your neighbors at risk,” The DFS said in its statement.

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