Everyday, police and sheriff's deputies deal with dangerous situations.

On Thursday two different departments had to call in bomb squads to make sure everyone was safe.

But since there are few teams in the state trained for that kind of work, there can be a substantial wait until they arrive.

Wisconsin only has three bomb squads to service the entire state.

That means when police discover a bomb or other explosive device in Eau Claire, it can take several hours, or up to 10 hours in yesterdays case, before anyone arrives to examine it.

Eau Claire County Sheriff Ron Cramer says his department just doesn’t, “have the expertise to deal with that, it takes a high level of training and identification, because with bomb making material you may find other compounds that the average officer doesn't make any sense of, that it would be a compound for a bomb.”

Cramer says his department and many others in the state just don't have the tools to handle a bomb or any other explosive device.

That's where specialized members of a bomb squad come in.

Cramer says the bomb squad can, “walk in and see 3 different compounds together and say that could make a bomb, right there guy’s, and I'm curious why they are here and together.”

Cramer says the cost of running a bomb squad is one of the priciest for a department, in terms of training and equipment.

He says, “It is very costly to have one, and I couldn't afford to have one in our department. We are under some sever budget restraints they way it is.”

Because of that, Cramer says the state of Wisconsin is looking into creating a new bomb squad that would serve northwest Wisconsin and help keep law enforcement officers safe, by getting here quicker.

Cramer says of bomb makers, “They are out there, and we have concern about safety because why would anybody want an explosive device around, except to hurt someone else.”

Sheriff Cramer says whenever they find someone who has bomb making materials and literature, they're always concerned.

He says it is illegal for people to own active explosive devices like hand grenades unless you are licensed and trained to store them.

Right now the closest bomb squad to Eau Claire is the team in Marathon County, and it takes about two hours to get here after they're called.