The Explosive Disposal Unit (EDU) is a trained group of officers who provide expertise relating to the handling and disposal of explosives and related hazards.
The Unit currently has 5 part-time members who use a variety of equipment to accomplish their mission, including bomb suits, disrupters and two robots, “Ted & Van”.
To become a member of the Unit, candidates must pass job specific tests that assess their physical abilities and aptitudes to work as a Police Explosive Technician (PET). Selected candidates attend the Canadian Police College where they begin training to be Bomb Technicians.
The functions of the EDU include the neutralization of suspicious items, improvised explosive devices (IED’s), and disposal of military ordinance. Members are used as an investigative resource for accidental and criminal post blast scenes and provide technical support to the Emergency Task Unit for Explosive Forced Entry.
In partnership with other Regional stakeholders (Fire, EMS, NHS, Region), EDU is the NRP lead and first response with the regional response team, CBRNE NIAGARA, (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive) to events of that nature.
To keep members current and up-to-date on the various equipment, threats, trends and techniques used by Bomb Tech’s around the world, training is carried out locally and beyond on a continuous basis.