TYLER, Texas — The Tyler Fire Department is applying for a $450,000 grant that will allow the department to have its own bomb disposal robot.
On Wednesday, the Tyler City Council gave the fire department its approval to apply for the grant offered through the Ben and Maytee Fisch Foundation. If awarded, the funds will go toward purchasing a new robot unit for the Public Safety Bomb Team.
The bomb team is currently using a fully functional, full-size robot on loan from the Mesquite Fire Department Bomb Team. These robots are used to safely disable explosive devices, the city of Tyler said.
"We anticipate that at some point, the Mesquite team will request the return of their backup unit," said Fire Chief David Coble. "A new robot costs $450,000, including the accessories needed to outfit the unit. Over the last four years, we have obtained numerous local and federal grants to purchase equipment for the bomb team, but this is our first opportunity to apply for a grant with the capacity to purchase this valuable tool."
In 2018, the Tyler Fire Department formed the Regional Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team. The team was accredited through the FBI in 2020 as the region's first Public Safety Bomb Team.
The Tyler EOD team performs detection, identification, recovery, disarmament and disposal of explosive devices, serving 16 counties in Northeast Texas. Prior to the establishment of this team, Shreveport or Mesquite handled requests for explosive disposal in East Texas.