Grenade found on Struthers Street from WWII

According to Cpt. Carrie Pluck, Armed Forces public affairs officer, the grenade was in fact live upon discovery, but after an inspection, it was found that the grenade was missing its striking mechanism and was deemed safe to handle and transport.

The Forces' Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team brought the grenade back to the Garrison Petawawa base where it was safely disposed of.

On an annual basis, the Garrison Petawawa EOD team responds to between 40 and 50 calls regarding grenades and it is not uncommon for them to assist local authorities in these types of situations.

“Munitions, no matter how old, should be always be treated as live,” said Pluck in an email to NorthernLife.ca.

“If you encounter one, do not disturb it, and contact the local police immediately. For safety reasons people should not use a cell phone around ordinances.”

The EOD team based out of Garrsion Petawawa responds to the majority of calls like this in Northern Ontario, spanning an area from Ottawa to Thunder Bay.

While there is a wide variety in the types of military ordinance that are discovered, Pluck says that she can not speculate as to how often soldiers might have brought ordinances home with them after the Second World War and she is unsure as to why this grenade was found in the Sudbury area.

Typically, the munitions that the EOD teams are called on to investigate are found to be inert, but Pluck says that all suspected unexploded ordinances should be treated as live as they can be extremely dangerous.