REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (WHNT) – On Tuesday morning, an educational drill commenced involving multiple simulated blazes as ATF officials set up a scenario for participants to examine.
The course participants included personnel from law enforcement and the military who came from across the nation to understand how to investigate a site and construct a case following a catastrophe.
The ATF transformed an area at Redstone Arsenal into a simulated marketplace complete with fake vendors, observers, and emergency personnel. Once everything was arranged, the participants revisited and analyzed the locations where explosions had occurred.
“The way they describe it is a cradle to grave,” Huntsville Police Officer William Curl said. “From the start, to the middle, to the very end with prosecutors, lab work and everything like that.”
Curl, like all the course participants, has attended training with the ATF before. He has experience investigating the site of an explosion, but this exercise is designed to teach additional skills.
“Throughout the week, they’ll respond to more bombing incidents that will occur here on Redstone as a training exercise,” ATF Post Blast Investigative Techniques Course Program Manager Brian Taylor said. “Once they complete that, they’ll be able to formulate a case and actually be able to do a grand jury presentation at the end.”
The program runs for a total of two weeks, after which attendees should apply the knowledge and abilities gained upon returning to their respective companies.
“That’s certainly going to boost confidence regarding the workflow since I can use this at our crime scene with the bomb squad,” Curl stated.
Curl mentioned that Huntsville’s bomb squad operates as a regional unit; therefore, the training could extend beyond the boundaries of the city’s authority.
The ATF holds periodic training, but this advanced class usually only takes place once a year.
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