Nevada native pens non-fiction manual

A former Nevada resident Mike Pickett has an unusual occupation. Pickett is an expert on explosives and has written a primer on explosives for firefighters and other emergency responders. He also offers training for emergency responders so they may correctly respond to finding commercial explosives. military ordnance, homemade bombs and bomb search procedures, and weapons of mass destruction.

Pickett is a professor emeritus at San Antonio college where he taught in the protective services department. He has also been an aerospace munitions officer in the Air Force as well as a firefighter in the San Antonio fire department.

Pickets 1958 graduating class has an unusual distinction, it is the only class to have graduated without a school building. The class members were juniors when Nevada high school burned down.

"We held classes in homes and offices, attics and wherever we could," Pickett said.

An experienced firefighter and counter-terrorism expert, Pickett has seen many maimings, serious injuries, and even deaths from the misshandling of explosives by children, adults and emergency personnell. In every case, he says it could have been prevented with proper response and training.

"I was in EOD, explosive ordnance disposal, and I used to teach hazardous material handling," Pickett said.

Pickett said he was getting ready to retire in 1993 when the tradecenter bombings occurred. He began writing articles for the fire house magazine. He collected the articles together and produced a book.

Pickett has a Web site, www.pickettsprimer.com, where his books, videos, and DVDs may be purchased.