A large part of Wingham’s downtown was evacuated after a grenade was found at the Salvation Army Thrift Store on Friday. Huron County OPP say the Grey Bruce OPP Explosive Disposal Unit (EDU) attended the scene at 5:31 p.m. and safely removed the item of concern. Following their assessment and removal of the item, all emergency resources have cleared the scene. Josephine Street has been reopened to both vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and all previously established road closures have been lifted. “We were just going about our normal day in the store, taking donations at the back. And, we received one particular donation that came in. Our staff were sorting through it as they normally would. And it appeared that there was something a little different in a certain box of military memorabilia. And it turned out that it was a hand grenade from kind of the First or Second World War period is what we believe, and that was quite a surprise,” said Wingham’s Salvation Army Pastor/Director Brian Dueck. Dueck actually held the grenade in his hand before calling in police around 2 p.m. “I was just kind of checking it out, and trying to find the wording and numbers on it to see what exactly it was. And as I was looking it up, that’s when I realized that this was probably a legitimate hand grenade. And, it had the pin in it and everything. So the next question is, well, is it actually active or is it being deactivated? So I called the police non-emergency line, and they sent the police out to come and have a look,” said Dueck. Once police arrived, they decided it was best to evacuate not only the Salvation Army, but a large part of Wingham’s downtown stretch. Huron County OPP says the temporary shelter that had been established at the Westcast Community Centre has now been closed. “We were given the order as soon as the police got there to clear the building. And, then the block started clearing out, and nobody’s allowed kind of anywhere near the building for now,” said Dueck. Dueck says he was told that a specialized bomb disposal unit is coming from London, Ont. to deal with the grenade. “I mean, I didn’t really think much of it at first, but I guess you take every precaution, right? So, yeah, thankfully the police are really quick to, to come down and they just kind of took control of the situation and let us know what we had to do,” he said. Dueck hopes it all turns out OK, and the grenade isn’t live, regardless it’s a scary situation that probably could have been avoided. “Check what you’re donating, try to keep it safe, and put any paperwork with it if it’s something like that, so that we know what’s going on,” said Dueck.
