By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, along with its Hazmat Team and members of the U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment Marianas, successfully detonated a cache of unexploded ordnance Wednesday in Marpi.
DFEMS public information officer Robert Mojica said the ordnance had been collected over the past year from multiple sites across Saipan. “Pretty much when people dig around their homes or farms, they find UXOs,” Mojica said.
He estimated that about a ton of ordnance was gathered, including World War II-era mortar rounds, artillery shells, and hand grenades. Expired flares from a local establishment were also included in the detonation.
Mojica urged residents to call 911 if they encounter any unexploded ordnance, provide the location and description, and allow authorities to safely retrieve and transport the items to the bomb pit.
He noted that many of the WWII munitions detonated were discovered after soil erosion at American Memorial Park exposed them.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
