The Carefree Fire Department was evacuated Friday evening after a person turned in a suspicious device.
Carefree fire station evacuated and parts of Tom Darlington in front of station closed for citizen who turned in blasting caps & dynamite.
— RuralMetroCorp (@RuralMetroCAZ) August 27, 2016
According to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, a man was going through his father's things when he came across what he thought was blasting caps. The man wanted to safely dispose of them so he brought them to the fire station on Tom Darlington Drive and Lucky Lane.
Deputies evacuated the fire station as a precaution while the bomb squad worked to remove the device.
MCSO officials described the device as a tube with a wire coming out, but it was not confirmed as dynamite.
The bomb squad treated the package as an explosive. With the help of a bomb robot, the device was put into a box, and driven away from the scene. Crews had plans to dispose of the device, authorities said.
Rural Metro Fire Chief John Kraetz recommended that no one ever move suspected explosives. The man who brought the device to the fire station could have "blown himself up" or harmed firefighters, Kraetz said.
Instead, Kraetz recommends that anyone who finds suspected explosives leaves them where they are and call police for assistance.
