New Jersey was the latest stop on a traveling road show the FBI has been putting on for bomb squads and first responders across the nation for more than a year now.
So, in a remote part of the Pinelands in South Jersey, the Feds set off 26 explosions and chemical fires.
They showed a series of reactions with everyday chemicals, explosions with materials such as fertilizer or racing fuel additives, as well as military explosions like C4 and a similar explosive brought back from Iraq, called "bad guy explosives" by former FBI expert and now consultant Donald Sachtleben.
"This is about real world what's happening," said Sachtleben to dozens of law enforcement officers in the middle of an open field.
"It's good to know what's out there, what we're up against on a day to day basis," explained UMDNJ Flight Paramedic Vincent Cisternino, who added "You never know where you might find explosives in a routine part of your job."
The demonstration was planned well before the Times Square Bomber grabbed the headlines, and the FBI took pains to note that nothing they showed off was directly related to that investigation.
But they did show the right way to blow up a propane tank, and they showed how to mix chemicals both easy to obtain, and not so easy.
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We won't repeat the recipes here, but Sachtleben admitted they are easy to find on the Internet.
"We really can't predict when this problem is going to hit next," said Sachtleben.
Asked if it scares him as a First Responder, Cisternino replied "I think it scares everyone."
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