16 Officers Injured in FBI Facility Explosion

Members of a Federal Bureau of Investigation SWAT team are seen as they walk to enter a mall during an FBI field training exercise at the Landmark Mall in Alexandria, Va., on May 2, 2014. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Sixteen law enforcement officers were injured from an explosion at an FBI training facility, with most individuals now released from treatment while one person remains hospitalized.

The incident took place on March 14 at the facility when the Orange County Sheriff’s SWAT team was conducting their annual joint training together with members from the Hazardous Devices Section or the bomb squad, Sergeant Frank Gonzalez, public information officer for the Sheriff’s office, told reporters on Thursday. “During the training, an explosion occurred indoors which caused injury to 16 members of our SWAT team. Fifteen members of our SWAT team were transported to local hospitals by ambulance and one member was able to transport himself to the hospital.”

“As far as the injuries, the most severe injury that was sustained was one of our SWAT team members had a leg injury that is going to require surgery but is not considered life-threatening. Two other members had superficial injuries, one was to a member’s back and the other injury was to a leg. Neither one of those are going to require surgery,” he said.

“Thirteen members were taken to local hospitals as a precaution because they had complaints of dizziness as well as ringing to their ears. Of those 13 members, many of them are already out of the hospital.”

He confirmed that the injuries were not life-threatening “from what I’m being told.” Members who took part in the training were wearing protective equipment. Mr. Gonzalez confirmed.

“It’s not a good feeling anytime an injury happens to anybody, including members of our own staff, which I am encouraged to say that we acted properly. We have medical plans in place, and they were activated immediately because the safety of all our members is our utmost anytime we hold a training like this.”

The incident will be investigated by the sheriff’s department in coordination with the FBI. The training facility is located in the city of Irvine. “The FBI had nothing to do with the incident. They were just providing a training location for both of our teams,” Mr. Gonzalez clarified.

Information on what caused the explosion is yet to be determined, Mr. Gonzalez told reporters on Thursday, according to Orange County Register.

Fifteen out of the 16 officers injured in the explosion have been released, he said. The one remaining officer requires leg surgery and thus continues to be hospitalized.

Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokesperson, said that no person from the bureau was injured from the explosion, AP reported.

The training facility, located south of Los Angeles, usually hosts firearms training for both the agency as well as local law enforcement, she said. It is also the site of qualification tests for these departments.

The Squads

The Hazardous Devices Section involved in the incident is made up of 18 members with the full-time squad consisting of four investigators and one sergeant. The section accommodates twelve additional bomb technicians. “Since September 11, 2001, the bomb squad has increased in size by sixty percent,” according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

“The Hazardous Devices Section provides expert explosive/ bomb disposal technicians capable of immediate response to all government jurisdictions within Orange County. They are also one of the primary responders to incidents of actual or suspected weapons of mass destruction,” the department explained.

“The Hazardous Devices Section is charged with identifying and rendering safe explosive devices and other explosive materials along with providing post-blast forensic services for all communities within the county. The section provides bomb attack countermeasures for dignitary protection operations. This task is greatly aided by eight bomb dogs.”

On average, the Hazardous Devices Section sees 600–800 service requests annually, including rendering safe 50–80 improvised explosive devices.

Members of the SWAT team servicing the Orange County Sheriff’s Department are trained in using advanced tactics and specialized weapons/equipment to ensure they can handle complicated situations like high-risk search warrants, apprehending violent fugitives, and rescuing hostages.

“The very nature of the assignments they are tasked with requires that deputies with aspirations to serve on the SWAT Team undergo a rigorous selection process and that they regularly and vigorously train for every possible scenario and situation that might present itself,” the department states.

“SWAT also has one of the most intense training programs within the agency and team members spent over 9,800 hours training in 2015. Members of the team can be called upon to serve a series of high-risk narcotics search warrants in the morning and find themselves in the middle of an armed hostage situation later that afternoon.”

Over the past years, multiple accidents like the one involving the Orange County Sheriff’s Department have been reported. In September 2022, a training device “unexpectedly exploded” while the FBI Philadelphia Field Office was holding explosives response training for its law enforcement partners.

The explosion wounded five bomb technicians, which included three deputies from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), one trooper from the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), and one special agent from FBI Philadelphia.

In August, an IRS special agent was killed at a firing range in north Phoenix while engaged in a training regimen.