Buried hand grenades, mysterious powders and suspicious packages are no match for the University of Illinois-Champaign Bomb Squad.

Reaccredited this semester by the FBI, the bomb squad, which has been in force for about 35 years, is composed of five full-time certified bomb technicians trained to collect and dispose of hazardous materials.

All members of the squad, as well as bomb squad members throughout the country, undergo a six-week training program at a facility in Alabama. The reaccreditation came after the FBI examined the squad’s training records and made sure it had correct, functioning equipment.

Though the squad’s name often associates it with bomb threats, University Police Lt. Skip Frost said it deals with much more. The squad, which gets between 15 and 25 calls a year from the nine-county area it serves, is prepared to confront other situations such as school shootings or anthrax threats, Frost said.

“It’s not always cut the red wire, cut the blue wire, like in the movies,” he said.

Frost said the bomb squad often gets called in to remove and neutralize hand grenades and other explosives that veterans of Vietnam and other wars leave in their homes when they pass away.

“Bomb threats are not what we’re all about,” he said. “We’ll assist with searching, (but getting) called to a venue for a bomb threat, that’s rare.”

That is where the Andro F6A steps in. This $170,000 piece of machinery is a robot equipped with cameras and an arm that can be maneuvered to grab and move materials. It also has the ability to shoot shotgun shells or water. The technology is used by every bomb squad in the state and is used to handle various hazardous materials and render them safe.

“It takes us out of harm’s way when dealing with harmful devices,” Frost said.

The squad also uses mineral water bottles and hydra-jets, which contain small amounts of explosives and water, to prevent other explosives from detonating.

“We use a lot of water for the things we do because water can be very powerful, but it won’t go very far and do a lot of damage,” said Steve Trame, University police officer and bomb squad member.

Brian Karbach, bomb squad member and Champaign police officer, said bomb technicians from all over the country would be able to work effectively together if a situation required it.

“Everyone is on the same page because we do the same type of training,” he said. “We might have a little bit of different equipment here and there, but it’s the same principle.”

Karbach said the squad uses the technology and procedures to make the process of rendering safe as harmless as possible.

“We only risk a life to save a life,” he said. “We’re going to do everything our pace; we’re going to make sure that it’s minimal time on target because we’d all like to go home.”