Bomb threats and bombs in Ames are not commonplace, but if local law enforcement agencies did encounter such a situation they would be prepared, said Ames Police Chief Dennis Ballantine.

Ballantine said neither the threat of bombs nor bombs themselves have been a problem in Ames for a couple of decades.

“Those things certainly are not a problem like back in the ’60s and the ’70s,” he said. “Back during the Civil Rights Movement and during the anti-Vietnam War period, it was kind of a new concept and people got into doing it to make a statement.”

He said in 1970, dynamite exploded in the Ames City Hall and another bomb was discovered before activation on the property of a local judge.

But things have settled down considerably since then, Ballantine said.

“Once in a while, people will find a package that is suspicious,” he said, “and once or twice a year we might get a bomb threat over at the high school or somewhere, but that’s it.”

Loras Jaeger, director of the Department of Public Safety, agreed with Ballantine in his assessment of the bomb situation in Ames.

“Things periodically pop up,” Jaeger said, “but it’s nothing that is a serious problem like it used to be.”

Both Ames Police and DPS have contingency plans in case of an actual explosive emergency.

Jaeger said the first concern is to seal off the area where the device was seen or believed to be located.

“The No. 1 thing is you always use caution,” he said. “Our officers will cordon off the area right away. That way, if it is an explosive device, getting people away will reduce the personal damage and the property damage.”

Next, Jaeger said, DPS will try to identify the object, possibly using binoculars. But because DPS officers are not trained to recognize explosive devices, they often have to seek help if they can’t determine what the object is.

“It really depends on the situation and the device,” Jaeger said. “There’s an officer with Ames PD who’s got some military background we might contact. Des Moines officers have some training, and we might also contact the military.”

Ballantine said his agency follows the same basic procedures.

“First of all, we will help the people who run the establishment to search for anything suspicious if we have a threat of a bomb on the property,” he said.

Until an explosive device is actually found, Ballantine said the decision whether to evacuate is left up to the owners of the property.

“We don’t make the decision until we’re sure there’s an immediate threat,” he said.

Although Ballantine said “we have people that can identify them pretty well,” other agencies still are needed to disarm bombs.

Ballantine said the Ames Police Department might collaborate with the state fire marshall, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation or any number of federal agencies.