Amber & The Pittsburgh Police Bomb Squad

By: Ally Stevens
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What an exciting day it was for Amber, one of our awesome 15 year old teens! Not only was it her last inpatient visit at Children's Hospital, but the bomb squad came to visit her. The smile on Amber's face lit up the entire room! Amber's role model, Sergeant Colleen Bristow of the Pittsburgh Police Department, asked Officer Schrader and Officer Tritinger to come show Amber what being a bomb squad technician is all about. I think I can speak for all of us and say we learned A TON of new, interesting information about a day in the life of someone on the bomb squad. We were so surprised when the men showed up with lots of gear including their very own bomb squad robot. They even let Amber try it out- of course she caught on right away. In addition to their robot, the guys brought a complete bomb proof uniform- COOL! Amber's mom decided she was up for the task and she tried it on! This suit adds about 50 pounds, plus 20 more for the helmet- she got a workout today!

We are so glad that Officer Schrader and Officer Tritinger were able to share some of their stories with us and tell us about how they came to be bomb squad technicians. Did you know there are only about 3,500 technicians across the nation? And we got to meet 2 of them- how awesome! The visit ended perfectly when Amber was able to try on an authentic police bulletproof vest. She sure showed her strength because that vest is not lightweight! 

​Thank you to Sergeant Colleen Bristow for making this all happen and to the two wonderful bomb squad technicians Officer Schrader and Officer Tritinger. Finally, CONGRATULATIONS to Amber on her last inpatient visit. We are SO proud of you.