TNT is found in Johnston shed

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TNT is found in Johnston shed
Story from the Tribune Chronicle by Amy McCullough on 9/5/2007.

Members of the Youngstown Bomb Squad gather four sticks of old military explosives found in a shed at 3267 Bradley Brownlee Road Tuesday afternoon. The explosives were taken to a field off Ridges Road and detonated. See more photos on CU by visiting cu.tribune-chronicle.com

Tribune Chronicle

JOHNSTON — A Johnston resident found deteriorating military explosives Tuesday inside the shed that sits in a wooded lot about 30 feet from his newly purchased Bradley Brownlee Road home.

Youngstown Bomb Squad Patrolman Lou Ciavarella said four quarter-pound sticks of TNT, an older military explosive, were found on the ground inside the shed.

‘‘It was in a deteriorated state, so I’m not sure how sensitive it might have become. Usually, the military stuff is pretty stable, but this was old and you could tell the casings had some rust forming around them,’’ Ciavarella said.

Police and firefighters did not have the name of the homeowner, who was evacuated as soon as the bomb squad arrived, Johnston fire Chief Charles Roszak said.

Rather than taking the chance of driving more than 20 miles back to Youngstown with the explosives in the car, Johnston police arranged for the squad to take the TNT to an empty field off Ridge Road, where it was destroyed by a counter charge, Ciavarella said.

Although it is not known how long the explosives were in the shed, Ciavarella said they likely were brought back by someone serving in the military.