ATF class gives experience in explosion investigations

Students from an advanced post-blast class looked on as Redstone Fire Department lighted and then extinguished several staged fires May 6 as agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives prepared a scene for students to investigate. Thirty students from the U.S. and foreign militaries joined state, local and federal partners in this class. 

“We’ve set up an advanced post-blast class designed to incorporate a case where the students will work it from cradle to grave,” Brian Taylor, program manager for the ATF Post Blast Investigative Techniques class, said. “They are going to come out and respond to their first scene. They’re going to interview the first responders on the scene. There are role players that are involved in this one. So, they will interview them and process the scene based off the procedures they have learned.

“Then they will start building their case and actually make a grand jury presentation based on the evidence at the end of the class.”

For safety reasons, cars were blown up the day before and the fires lit on the day of the class to create the scene of a car blast followed by a fire. 

Redstone Police and the Redstone Fire Departments played a role, working as first responders who were later interviewed. The scene was set up to look like a market, with shops, witnesses and first responders. Afterward, participants went back and reconstructed the blast sites.

“Redstone police came in to help us with this case,” Taylor said. “We also had Redstone Fire that came in as our first responders. We wanted them to extinguish the fire and work the case. That way we can interview the first responders the same way as we would if we were responding to a scene and start building our case.”