Originally Posted by
Outpost75
From our CERT annual refresher training:
Treat all explosive detonations as HAZMAT incidents!
Don’t touch anything
Get far AWAY, UPHILL, UPWIND
Warn others to get away and stay away
Help others to evacuate the area
SIZEUP as you can from a safe distance
REPORT the incident to 911 by landline!
DO NOT use cell phone or 2-way RADIO!
May trigger secondary device, if present.
What to tell the 911 call taker:
Where are you now?
What happened (best as you can determine)
Where it happened
Number and types of known injuries
What is happening now
Who you are
Where you are now
How you can be reached
If YOU are contaminated:
Remove everything, including jewelry
Cut off clothing normally removed over the head
Wash your hands before using them to shower
Flush entire body with cool water
Blot dry with absorbent cloth
Put on clean clothes
Report to responders for thorough decontamination, assessment, treatment.
Take SELF-PROTECTIVE measures only
Use basic decontamination procedures
DO NOT treat victims in contaminated area
Tell people leaving how to do basic decon and then to report to responders for thorough decon/ assessment / treatment.
COUNTERMEASURES
for Hazmat, Radiological and Explosive Incidents
TIME - Exit the contaminated area - Minimize duration of exposure.
DISTANCE - Distance yourself from the hazard. Be aware that chemical or biological agents can be airborne or be heavier than the surrounding air, being more persistent in low areas with poor air circulation. You must not only seek distance from the hazard to minimize exposure, but move uphill and upwind from the source.
SHIELDING - Sturdy [bullet proof] physical barriers, 8 inches or more of solid masonry. Metal vehicles. Use terrain.
No matter how much shielding you have, you must still take advantage of time and distance!
Telephone bomb threats are most common. All calls which mention bomb threats, suspicious objects, suspected explosive, incendiaries or biological devices should be considered “real.”
E-mail threats are more difficult to trace.
Save the e-mail message
Print it out, and copy to a SD card for police
Call the police and your company security.
If you get a phone threat, question the caller and write down responses:
WHERE is the bomb?
WHEN will it explode?
WHAT does it look like?
WHAT TYPE of bomb is it?
WHAT CAN BE DONE to stop it?
WHO ARE YOU? (Usually prompts a hang-up)
Keep calm, use a standardized hand signal to summon help and keep the caller on the line while asking the caller the standard question set, carefully noting your observations on the Bomb Threat Check List in your emergency procedures. The public safety call taker is in the best position to obtain information needed to enable law enforcement to assess the credibility of the threat. The following observations are vital for law enforcement to assess the credibility of the threat and act promptly upon it.
Write down the EXACT time
Write down the EXACT words of caller - Note unusual grammar, syntax, or accent
NOTE background noise, traffic, machinery, music, natural sounds, nature of caller’s voice, any identifiable or unusual sounds.
Use CALLER ID or other network security features to determine the caller’s phone number!
When caller hangs up immediately key *57 to enable “Call Trace” so law enforcement can determine the caller’s phone number.
Then call 911!
Written threat received:
Handle note or envelope as little as possible - Preserve evidence: latent prints, fibers, DNA, handwriting, printer impressions, chemical, biological or explosive traces. If suspicious item leaks liquid / powder call 911! - Potential chemical-biological-radiological threat - If package or box, isolate, evacuate the area.
SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE - Primary Indicators:
Item neither expected nor requested
Listed sender did not mail or ship
Postmark doesn’t match return address
Any parcel not delivered by a usual method
Hand-written labels
Poor penmanship, misspellings
Excessive tape, protrusions
Merely “looks odd,” trust your intuition!
Too much postage, particularly stamps
Stiff or thick envelope over 1/4” or 2 ounces
Things that do not belong to anyone present
Packages, bags, briefcases, luggage
Unusual location, not normal, out of place
Delivered by unknown service / person
Just “appears”
“Bulging” or misshapen containers
Capped containers with muddy liquid
Or textile wick
Releasing vapors, odors, “hissing” ! ! !
Unusual electrical components
Wires or batteries which appear out of place
Unusual plastic tubing, bottles, aerosol containers, gas cylinders
Particularly if near HVAC return air intake
Any pipe with end caps in place
Any vehicles parked in unusual locations.
Vehicle Borne IED Precursors:
Theft of explosives, blasting caps or fuses
Rental of self-storage space
Delivery of chemicals
Directly to a storage facility
Rental, theft or purchase of a truck or van
Having large carrying capacity
Modification of a truck or van
For carrying heavier loads…
Rental trucks with hazardous cargo placards
Parked in non-industrial settings
Moving outside usual trucking routes
Unattended and driver cannot be located
Any unattended passenger vehicle or van with apparent heavy load
More bomb precursors:
Reported small “test” explosions - Most often in rural or wooded areas
Walk-in ER patients with chemical burns - Anyone with untreated chemical burns
Person with missing fingers or hands
Purchase, or attempted illegal access to facility blue prints
Workplace planning:
Have a planned facility evacuation / assembly area
Prior to use check assembly area for suspect items
If any suspect item or vehicle is present
Use your alternate assembly point
DO YOU HAVE an alternate assembly point?
Use terrain features or solid objects as shielding
If evacuating INSIDE a structure go to farthermost lateral point at least several floors below the device.
Avoid assembly areas within 300 ft. of building near windows, or any overhead glass
Avoid areas with flammable / hazardous materials
Take a roll call and account for all absentees
300 ft. from small briefcase devices if you have shielding
1000 ft. MINIMUM from backpack or larger devices in the open
If a vehicle bomb is suspected, don’t stop at 1000 ft. get “as far away as possible.”
CALL 911 from a safe distance!
WRITE down location, time, license plate numbers, descriptions of observations while memory is fresh
INFORM call taker where you are, how to reach you
Follow all instructions of public safety personnel
Activating Resources:
Notify on-scene police or fire personnel - If none are present… then:
Withdraw to a safe distance - 300 ft. for a small device, if you have shielding
1000 ft. MINIMUM for large device in open - get as far AWAY, UPHILL, UPWIND as possible
DON’T use your cell phone or 2-way radio
Use a landline to CALL 911 !
Public Safety Response:
Assist individuals in harm’s way to safety
Deny entry to unauthorized personnel
Establish perimeters and operational zones
Establish Incident Command System
Establish a safe refuge for the public
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote