March 19, 2010: Altoona resident Richard Allen discovered an old hand grenade while cleaning out a shed on his property  and notified 911. The Wilson County Sheriff, several deputies and Emergency Manager Rick Brown initially responded to the report at about 9:30 am.  According to Sheriff Dan Bath, the grenade appeared to be an older style which hasn’t been used since the era of the Korean War.

Roads in the immediate area were blocked, and Rural Fire and EMT personnel were stationed nearby outside of the danger zone as a precaution while waiting for the arrival of a McConnell Air Force Base Explosive Ordnance Disposal team which was called in to safely remove the device.  Shortly after their arrival on the scene at 1:45 pm, the disposal experts determined that the grenade was not fully armed, but did retain a live fuse, which had the potential for causing serious injury if accidentally detonated. The grenade was placed in an explosion-resistant box and was taken to another location for a controlled detonation.