Danish bomb disposal expert shields family from dangerous job details

A Danish bomb disposal expert who handles around 1,200 callouts a year, from suspected acid bombs to fireworks, says he keeps the most dangerous details of his work from his family, according to a report from Danish broadcaster DR.

In August 2024, Mikkel, a member of the Danish Defence EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) unit, responded to a suspected acid bomb found on the ground between residential blocks in Viborg. Residents were told to close doors and windows while Mikkel approached the bottle in a protective suit, placed a small charge, and detonated it from a safe distance.

“It’s maybe not so much that I lie — it’s more that I don’t tell all the details,” Mikkel told DR. “I keep to the overall things. There is a limit to what they can do about it anyway.”

The unit, featured in the DR documentary series “Bomberydderne,” receives calls from across Denmark around three times a day on average. Tasks include disarming mines, unexploded ammunition, unstable chemicals, and dangerous fireworks, but much of the work involves planning rather than action.

“EOD is not the world’s best spectator sport,” Mikkel said. “You need an innate calm and an ability to keep your head cool.”

The job requires bomb disposal experts to have a family, according to Mikkel, because that makes them less willing to take excessive risks. “We want bomb disposal experts who have something to return to — someone who has a family and something to live for.”

Mikkel has made his family one promise: “I will come home again. That’s what I hold my decisions up against out there, if I consider whether I’m about to take a risk that is too great.”

DR knows Mikkel’s full name but uses only his first name for security reasons.

Tags: Denmark, bomb disposal, DR documentary