|
BOMB THREATS:
Do you have personnel trained to deal with the increasingly prevalent bomb threat? Bomb threats are costing corporations, property managers, building owners and tenants across the country millions of dollars in lost revenue each year. The unnecessary evacuations of properties and lost productivity are often a direct result of not having an adequate plan for dealing with bomb threats. Large metropolitan cities easily face hundreds of bomb threat calls each year. And over 99% of the threats are hoaxes! (See chart.) But the decision to not evacuate is still a risky one! This article reviews bomb threats and proposes strategies to address them. WHY AND WHO? 1. They want to disrupt your service or cause inconvenience, knowing it will cost you money, but they have not placed a bomb. 2. They have placed a bomb in your facility and are giving you a warning to get everyone out; they don't want anyone injured or killed. (If the objective were to kill people and destroy property, there would not be a bomb threat call.) Who makes the bomb threat? It's usually someone associated with the property. It could be a disgruntled employee, dissatisfied customer, or an angry spouse in a bitter divorce. It could be as simple as a person not getting approval for a day off. MAKE A PLAN! 1. Identify a threat assessment team. This team should consist of at least three people, in case of a decision tie. The team will be responsible for assessing the threat and making the decision to evacuate or not. 2. Identify who has the authority to order the evacuation of the facility. Who is the replacement for this person in the event of sickness or vacation? On bomb threats, when no suspicious object is found, the evacuation decision is left up to the persons responsible for the facility. Police and fire personnel cannot order the evacuation of a facility on a bomb threat alone. Sometimes evacuations are left up to individual tenants. Who is ultimately responsible for the building? 3. Identify who will be on your search team(s). Remember the most effective search teams consist of people familiar with the building. In the event of a search, people who are familiar with the facility are the only ones who can point out something that is either suspicious or does not belong. This is the most effective means of searching. Ask for volunteers; these people want to help and will conduct a thorough search. 4. The plan should be divided into two parts. The first part of the plan would address the bomb threat itself. What do you want your personnel to do in the event of a threat—whether it is a phone threat or a written threat? Sometimes the threat may come in the form of a letter, or even an e-mail to the facility. If the correspondence comes in the form of a letter, remember there may be evidence present. The source of e-mail can also be identified. Let the proper law enforcement agency guide you. Designate a command post, where all personnel would report to be given their instructions. Have an alternate site in case your information puts the first site in danger. Telephone operators should have a bomb threat check list they can refer to when receiving a call. (See checklist.) 5. The second part of the plan should deal with procedures for handling a suspicious object. This part of the plan includes emergency procedures, evacuations, etc. Do not automatically pull the fire alarm. Your bomb threat evacuation plan should be different from your fire evacuation. For example, people may be in danger by bringing them close to a suspicious location through the use of the fire towers. This evacuation plan should be flexible. Because this is NOT a fire evacuation, the elevators may be the safest and quickest path of egress. PRACTICE! People should be trained for each part of the plan’s execution. The training should include threat assessment training for the person responsible for evaluating the threat and making the decisions. Phone operators should know how to properly handle a phone threat. (See checklist.) The proper method of searching a building should be taught to personnel on the search teams. Contact the local Police Department—do they have a bomb disposal team and can they provide training to your company? Other possible sources of training could be the local FBI, ATF and U.S. Postal Inspection service. These federal agencies also assist the corporate community with training in bomb threat management. About the Author |