Bomb threats

[HotelSecurity]

Who deals with these on a regular basis?

My 3 hotels do not attract high profile speakers or visitors so we don't get them often. Some other hotels deal with them regularly.

Evacuate or not?

During my schooling in Police Technology I had a seminar taught by the person who formed the Montreal Police bomb squad & saw lots of action in the early '70s with the separtist FLQ group's bombs. He taught that as a general rule for a simple phone call you should not evacuate. His reasoning was that if someone wanted to kill or injury people they would usually NOT call before an explosion. They would call after to take responsiblity for it in the name of a group. A person calling before an explosion, if in fact there is a real bomb, is trying to stop deaths or injury. His advice was that if after a first call & the caller called back asking why the building was not being evacuated, then he would suggest evacuating. Evacuating everytime someone phoned in a threat encourages false threats. It also has people moving around inside the building. It might cause someone to leave their work area & walk through the area where a bomb is located. They would have been safer staying in their area.

[Defensive tactics]

Funny you mention that Hotel Security
we just had our course on Bomb threats In Security Management (2 year Diploma program) and the main point we were taught is to have good SOP (security operating procedures) and to make the CEO/hotel management sign off on the SOP, that way they are the ones who made the call with security assisting in the evacuation (evacuation=lost revenue) The RCMP has packages that explain the proper procedures for Bomb threats, the main points we were taught to look for is

1. How specific is the threat (more specific=evacuation)

2. Does the caller sounds agitated/angry (or is it "the bomb is going to explode giigle giglle" as the kids slam down the phone)

3. was there a threat on a similer location (another hotel similer to yours in another city) which is why we are taught to read the newspaper as one of our prime security tools

I hope this helps
Ben

[Andy Taylor]

Yesterday this was part of a company meeting on emergency procedures. According to FBI stats, a quick call that says nothing more than "I put a bomb in your building." and then hang up is not likely a real bomb. the more info obtained from the caller, the more likely it is real, however, as you stated, most often a real bomber gives no warning.

[SecTrainer]

Fairly complicated subject, actually. No one wants to be jerked around by phony bomb threats, which can be very costly in disrupting the business, but the consequences of a bad decision can obviously also be very high.

First, a threat/vulnerability analysis with specific reference to bombs should be performed for any given facility. This analysis, together with proven best practices regarding bomb situations, should then drive the creation of policies and procedures that ultimately become translated into post orders and address issues such as evacuation - especially who is authorized to give an evacuation order. Since this decision will rarely be made at the level of the line officer, the post orders must include a protocol for communication of the bomb threat or suspicion to the decision-maker. This, in turn, implies a protocol for characterizing the threat or situation succinctly. For instance, ATF publishes a form that can be used to summarize all the salient features of a telephoned bomb threat, and this should be available at every phone station that would be likely to receive such a threat (reception, switchboard, etc.).

It's a mistake to think of the options as being necessarily limited to "evacuate or not"...and this becomes clearer as you study bomb situations generally. For instance, you learn that well over 70% of all bombs are placed in areas that are accessible to the public - parking garages, outer walls and doorways, lobbies, elevators, restrooms, outer hallways and stairwells. Utility closets and executive offices rank next. This knowledge then suggests that there might be intermediate options to "evacuate or not", one of which is to issue a "stand-still" order requiring people in the facility to remain where they are while such high-likelihood areas are searched. This protocol would also include the requirement that people visually scan their own areas to look for anything that is "out of place", report such (and then possibly evacuate that immediate area).

Such stand-still/search protocols, however, may not appropriate for facilities where there is a significant public presence (as the public would not know what this means or what to do, obviously), and intermediate options might instead involve partial evacuation (lobbies, for instance) along with discreet but rapid searches. Again, such decision would be made by someone with authority and training - not the line officer - and would mainly be based on that individual's assessment of the nature of the suspicion or threat as reported to him/her.

Do intermediate protocols require prior training for employees? As with many security issues, the answer is "yes". You don't start dealing with bomb situations when they happen...you have to start long before the fact.

A few other points:

a. Threat/vulnerability analysis is not just about "this facility". It should take into consideration the threat that might exist for adjacent and/or nearby properties that might attract a bomber. Remember, Timothy McVeigh did very serious damage to many properties near the federal building he targeted...and bombers have even been known to deliver their bombs to the wrong facility, especially in "industrial parks" or anywhere that there is a common appearance to clusters of buildings.

b. It's a good idea whether you evacuate or do something intermediate to assign at least one officer to do immediate patrol of the visual perimeter of the property in case there may be someone who seems to be taking an unusual interest in the proceedings. This patrol would extend beyond the boundaries of the property, as noted, to the "visual perimeter", so the officer may well have no other authority than to jot down license numbers or take stills, etc., but these can be very useful to the police. Even bomb threats can be "dry runs" for the real thing to come later, with the objective of seeing how the facility and first responders deal with such situations - perhaps for the purposes of placing a secondary device near the evacuation gathering points or first responder staging areas.

c. Bombs can look like anything...anything at all. One thing that characterizes most of them, however, is that they represent something - a bag, a box, a parcel, a flower vase, a boombox, whatever - that "shouldn't be there" or "wasn't there before". This implies that the best searches are performed by people who are familiar with the area being searched. Some facilities will include a department employee (selected and trained, of course) on the search team, but in any case this implies that we train security officers to understand how critical it is for them to be knowledgeable about the "normal state" of their areas of responsibility.

d. You also need a completely separate set of protocols-->procedures-->post orders for mailed bombs, bombs delivered by naive third parties, etc.

e. Of course, you touch nothing suspicious. I've seen a bomb for instance that had a small watch with wires going to it from a battery on the outside...one might conclude that simply cutting the wire to the battery would interrupt the timing circuit. Not so. The watch, wires and battery were not used for timing at all but were simply part of a collapsing circuit (the watch wasn't even necessary, of course - the circuit simply ran through the metal watch case, not the hands, so the watch was nothing more than a resistor in the circuit) inside the bomb where there was a relay being held open in the real activating circuit. Cutting the wires to the external battery would close this circuit. So...there never was any "timing" aspect to the triggering mechanism and the bomber wanted someone naive enough to cut those wires to the watch. This bomb was obviously targeting bomb disposal and/or security personnel who would fall for the illusion created by the watch and spring the trap.

f. You need a means of communication among searchers other than radios...voice, hand signals and a means of marking areas that have been searched.

g. Drills must be conducted if procedures are to be effective. These need not necessarily be facility-wide each time.

[EMTjon]

I've had the opportunity to read the emergency response plan for a HUGE public building in the city near me... their plan calls for 2 teams to search the building. Each team consists of a security supervisor and someoen in maintnence/plant ops... the 2 groups that know the building. The procedure is VERY detailed in HOW they go about searching an area. It was written with the help of the local bomb squad... There are probably resources that you can talk with locally to get similar help.

Also, every place I work has a "bomb threat checklist" near every phone. That way, if you take a call, you can work through the checklist to ask all the questions that you are 'supposed' to ask.

One site even has "Bomb Threat... calll Security at Ext_____" on the back of the checklist, so a secretary can wave it in the air to get someone else's attention and have them call Security while they stay on the phone with the caller.

[ACP01]

I just wrote out a Bomb Threat Guideline today for a client.

One advantage they have is either areas are controlled entry or pretty much easily viewed. A disadvantage is a bank next door, one across the street and a Post office across the alley on the other side. Three high value targets....need I say more.

I recommended that if they recieve the call for themselves, notify 911 then employees and security can do a quick scan for items left unattended and if one is found evacuate.
If they recieve a call for one of the mentioned buildings then evacuate and notify the target and 911.

You must have a Bomb Threat call checklist to both help verify/analyze the call and to follow procedures.

Oh yeah, speaking from personal experiance it is VERY hard to stay on the phone with a caller that has just told you he is going to blow you up. It must be drilled into the people that answer the phone to follow protocol.

[SecTrainer]

On the topic of this thread, I thought some of you might find this interesting from USA Today (requoted in Security Management newsletter):

"Scientists are conducting research that could turn bees and wasps into front-line bomb-detection devices. Bees' antennae are sensitive to scent, and researchers are training the insects to detect the scent of explosives. Several bees are strapped into narrow tubes within a box, and when the bees sense explosive particles, they are trained to wave their proboscises, and the researchers reward them with sugar water. A pattern-recognition video camera system that is trained on the bees sends an alert when the bees begin waving their proboscises. Researchers have trained the bees to detect TNT, liquid-explosives, and howitzer propellant. Researchers also say that bees have shown the ability to detect land mines, toxic chemicals in the air, and drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine. Bees and wasps could have similar applications in detecting the quality of food, counterfeit merchandise, and drug smugglers."

Here's the link to the article itself:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-11-26-bees-bomb-sniffing_x.htm

[PubliusClodius]

Funny you mention that Hotel Security
we just had our course on Bomb threats In Security Management (2 year Diploma program) and the main point we were taught is to have good SOP (security operating procedures) and to make the CEO/hotel management sign off on the SOP, that way they are the ones who made the call with security assisting in the evacuation (evacuation=lost revenue) The RCMP has packages that explain the proper procedures for Bomb threats, the main points we were taught to look for is

1. How specific is the threat (more specific=evacuation)

2. Does the caller sounds agitated/angry (or is it "the bomb is going to explode giigle giglle" as the kids slam down the phone)

3. was there a threat on a similer location (another hotel similer to yours in another city) which is why we are taught to read the newspaper as one of our prime security tools

I hope this helps
Ben

Yeah we had similar documents to fill out that were fairly lengthy. It's good intelligence gathering for one thing, and absolutely essential for later investigations if it ever did happen.

[ACP01]

Using the phone questionaires and protocols may also give LE (that you contacted from another hrd-wired not cellular phone) a chance to trace the call.

[Mr. Security]

Some PBX phones at reception allow you do identify the trunk ID that the call came in on. Some phone companies also provide a code to enter after the call is terminated so that they have a marker for tracing the call. CT had a problem with bomb threats at the courthouses in an attempt to backlog the justice system. LE nailed them. The same with threats in school. I'd say your chances of being caught for making a threat at a high profile site is 90% over here.

[tlangsr]

My site doesn't have a protocol, even with the risk, so I had to look into this topic my self. Try this site Bomb Threats (http://bfa.sdsu.edu/emergency/bombthreat.htm)

[Mr. Security]

I understand that employees know what should or shouldn't be in the building as far as bomb searches go. Nevertheless, I am against having them participate in any kind of search because of the risk involved and the potential for someone to do something wrong such as moving/touching a suspicious item. You can tell people NOT to touch it a hundred times and guess what? They do it anyhow. Kaboom!

[tlangsr]

I understand that employees know what should or shouldn't be in the building as far as bomb searches go. Nevertheless, I am against having them participate in any kind of search because of the risk involved and the potential for someone to do something wrong such as moving/touching a suspicious item. You can tell people NOT to touch it a hundred times and guess what? They do it anyhow. Kaboom!

I fully agree, the Url i attached was ment as a guide on what to listen for when that call comes in, what to look for if it is a letter, and how to evacuate the building.

[BoxerGuard]

A good thing to access at first is how serious the caller is likely to be. If the give you a location, time, and what the bomb is packaged in...then it may be real. If the info is vague it may not be.

A friend of mine used to do armed robberies and he would use phony bomb threats to get cops on the other side of town while he was on a lick.

[HotelSecurity]

A friend of mine used to do armed robberies and he would use phony bomb threats to get cops on the other side of town while he was on a lick.

I tell you, you are a very interesting guy! Everytime you post we learn something. Why is your friend an ex armed robber. Was he shot or is he in jail?

[tlangsr]

A good thing to access at first is how serious the caller is likely to be. If the give you a location, time, and what the bomb is packaged in...then it may be real. If the info is vague it may not be.

A friend of mine used to do armed robberies and he would use phony bomb threats to get cops on the other side of town while he was on a lick.

I can see it in the papers now, 27 people blown to pieces cause the caller is "vague" Boxerguard, what is the purpose of a bomb threat? What the caller want to accomplish by placing the call?

[Mr. Security]

A good thing to access at first is how serious the caller is likely to be. If the give you a location, time, and what the bomb is packaged in...then it may be real. If the info is vague it may not be.

A friend of mine used to do armed robberies and he would use phony bomb threats to get cops on the other side of town while he was on a lick.

I hope that's a FORMER friend. At any rate, that's an old trick that I've heard of as well. Most seasoned police departments are not going to take the bait. Nevertheless, I would advise that all bomb threats be treated as geniune until proven otherwise.

[tlangsr]

I hope that's a FORMER friend. At any rate, that's an old trick that I've heard of as well. Most seasoned police departments are not going to take the bait. Nevertheless, I would advise that all bomb threats be treated as geniune until proven otherwise.

remind me to answer this post after Boxerguard answers my question.

[HotelSecurity]

Actually (and it hurts me to write this), there might be some truth in what he wrote. When I took Police Technology in college we had a seminar with the former head of the Montreal Police bomb squad. This guy built the squad. (Montreal was forced too in 1970 when the separatist group the FLQ began to place bombs, mostly in street mailboxes). He said that people phone in bomb scares to disrupt people. For example a kid who didn't want to write an exam at school. He said that sometimes evacuating a whole building actually encouages more false calls. His advice was what Boxerwatchman wrote: if the caller was very spacific about where the boomb was, what it looked like etc, there was a good chance it was real. If the caller called back to ask why the place wasn't being evacuated. This was probably a real bomb. A person calling before a bomb explodes wants to save people. If they wanted to kill them they would call after the exposion to take responsibilty.

[tlangsr]

yes however, many times the bomber calls in the threat to minimize deaths and casualties. please refer to this URL: http://nsi.org/Library/Terrorism/bombthreat.html

Either way, vague or not, the caller should be taken seriously and the are very necessary. If the caller is vague it can mean alot of things. by being vague he may want the building totally empty if and when the bomb goes off. If I know where the bomb is I know that some one is going to go look for it to verify.

[Eric]

If the caller is vague it can mean alot of things.

Mistakes happen too, I am thinking of timers not being set "properly".

The threat of a fire from day to day though is probably more of a concern to most business.

Good for you to take initiave.

[tlangsr]

Mistakes happen too, I am thinking of timers not being set "properly".

The threat of a fire from day to day though is probably more of a concern to most business.

Good for you to take initiave.

now a days you just can't rely on what the caller says or how they sound, mistakes do happen.

[BoxerGuard]

For example a kid who didn't want to write an exam at school. He said that sometimes evacuating a whole building actually encouages more false calls. His advice was what Boxerwatchman wrote: if the caller was very spacific about where the boomb was, what it looked like etc, there was a good chance it was real. If the caller called back to ask why the place wasn't being evacuated. .

Another thing to be alert for is a real bomb placed near the major exits of the building. And a phony bomb threat to get people to evacuate. When they evacuate and start pouring towards the exits then the real bomb goes off.

No my friend went to prison. He is fine now...we got waisted together last night.

[Mr. Security]

remind me to answer this post after Boxerguard answers my question.

It's time.

[Mr. Security]

Another thing to be alert for is a real bomb placed near the major exits of the building. And a phony bomb threat to get people to evacuate. When they evacuate and start pouring towards the exits then the real bomb goes off.

No my friend went to prison. He is fine now...we got waisted together last night.

Splendid. :rolleyes:

[tlangsr]

Another thing to be alert for is a real bomb placed near the major exits of the building. And a phony bomb threat to get people to evacuate. When they evacuate and start pouring towards the exits then the real bomb goes off.

No my friend went to prison. He is fine now...we got waisted together last night.

Then it wouldn't be phony.

[EMTGuard]

I got to work Friday evening and during pass on the Day shift superviosr tells me "We had an interesting day today." Seems he was sitting in the guard shack when the head of the plant walked over form the nearby administration building. With him was a young lady who was working that day as a temporary secretary/calltaker. She had received a bomb threat and they were at the guard shack to report it. The sherrif's office was notified and the deputies showed up with their K-9 unit. The FBI was notified. It was a heck of a day. No device was found and eventually all of the little office workers were allowed back in thier cubicals.
Stuff like that never happens on night shift. I love night shift. :cool:

[BoxerGuard]

Then it wouldn't be phony.

The location of the threat is phony..to get people to the location of the real bomb.

Hey bub, mr. security said its time.

[tlangsr]

my response was given in a couple messages.

[BoxerGuard]

Give it again.

[tlangsr]

I stated that you (or the police) can't just rely on what the caller says, how they sound , whether or not they are vague or not, because you never know about the sicko's we have out their today.

[BoxerGuard]

I stated that you (or the police) can't just rely on what the caller says, how they sound , whether or not they are vague or not, because you never know about the sicko's we have out their today.

There are so many variables to bomb threats. The other side of the coin is that we (or the Police) can't just rely on doubting the validity of the threat, because it may be real.

Then again if there is an evacuation plan for every bomb threat, then lazy employees may call them in just to get out of work...or off work early.

And the variables go on...

[tlangsr]

oh the pain in my chest is getting worse, That is what I have been trying to tell you. The variables can go on and on, but look at it this way. Say a business gets a Phony threat, they evacuate, and nothing is found. This goes on a couple more time for awile and finally the last time they don't evacuate. That's going to be the time they get barbecued.

[HotelSecurity]

I got to work Friday evening and during pass on the Day shift superviosr tells me "We had an interesting day today." Seems he was sitting in the guard shack when the head of the plant walked over form the nearby administration building. With him was a young lady who was working that day as a temporary secretary/calltaker. She had received a bomb threat and they were at the guard shack to report it. The sherrif's office was notified and the deputies showed up with their K-9 unit. The FBI was notified. It was a heck of a day. No device was found and eventually all of the little office workers were allowed back in thier cubicals.
Stuff like that never happens on night shift. I love night shift. :cool:


Wow! In Montreal the Police refuse to search inside a building. They search outside only. I covered why in another post.

[CAPTAIN KOOLAID]

Does anyone have bomb check list? If you like one can scan and post it.

[Bill Warnock]

Does anyone have bomb check list? If you like one can scan and post it.
To assure yourself you have the most current information, recommend you contact your local ATF office and get that data. If you have a good working relationship with your local law enforcement agency, seek their help in developing an annex to your security plan. Plan on attending one of their regional exercises and get some teeth jarring information. It's neat to hear a beep-beep rather than being vaporized by an explosion. It is a mind-blowing experience.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[SecTrainer]

Does anyone have bomb check list? If you like one can scan and post it.

The ATF site says it no longer publishes the checklist and you have to request it in writing, blah-blah. Apparently, the state of Tennessee dept of homeland security is unaware of this, as it's posted on their site at:

http://www.state.tn.us/homelandsecurity/bomb_checklist.pdf

[CAPTAIN KOOLAID]

nice check list but i have the whole of do's and dont's as well

[SecTrainer]

nice check list but i have the whole of do's and dont's as well

Oh, sorry - thought that's what you were asking for.

[Bill Warnock]

I hope this information is of some assistance to those trying to put something together. I read some later guidance which was a rehash of previously published information, so liking the original, stuck with it.

e. Bomb Threat? Dated? When was it last exercised? Does it contain these hard to remember items?

(1) Structural screening? Will the structure collapse?

(2) Who is at risk from flying and falling glass?

(3) Is security integrated? More guards do not necessarily make us safer from bombs!

(4) Enforced standoff? Can potential vehicle bombs be kept at a meaningful distance from the facility?

(5) How do we get the operation back to normal? (Source: *© “What Is Practical Bomb Defense for American Businesses?” by Ronald J. Massa, Ph.D., Security Technology and Design®, November, 1999.)

(6) Have avenues of evacuation or escape been altered to assure realism?

(7) Have bomb blankets been provided? If provided, what are their ratings?

(8) *Is mail screened, by whom, and what with? Is each piece screened separately? If not, explain why not? Are test exercises conducted, if so by whom? (Remember Judge Shaw, 1995) *DO NOT use fluoroscopic devices for initial screening as fluoroscopically sensitive photodiodes in a bomb might trigger an explosion. Use a standard x-ray machine. Let the bomb squad use a fluoroscope‼ (*Source: Confidential law enforcement agent)

(9) Is unopened mail ever delivered to corporate executives? If so, explain why?

(10) Have all employees been trained in bomb detection commensurate with their individual duties? Who provided the training? Remember “training for error” and “cognitive set error.” Have the curricula vitae of the instructors been verified?

(11) What actions are taken when a suspicious letter or package is discovered?

(12) Are personnel unfamiliar with a particular area prohibited from searching that area?

(13) Are members of the security staff familiar with the operational characteristics of accumulator circuits?

(14) Are members of the security staff familiar with altered look alike devices and how they have been rigged to explode?

(15) The following is a guide as to determining evacuation distances. (Source: ATF & FBI, California Highway Patrol and San Jose Police Department)

Threat Explosives Building Outdoor
Device Capacity Evacuation Distance Evacuation Distance

Pipe Bomb 5 Lbs 70ft/21M 850ft/259M
Briefcase 50lbs 150/46 1850/564
Small Car 500lbs 320/98 1500/457
Sedan 1000lbs 400/122 1750/534
Cargo Van 4000lbs 640/195 2750/838
Small Truck 10,000lbs 860/263 3750/1143
Water Truck 30,000lbs 1240/375 6500/1982
Semi Trailer 60,000lbs 1570/475 7000/2134

The capacity is given in the TNT equivalent. For further information contact the Federal Government Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) by visiting their web site: http://www.tswg.gov/tswg/prods_pubs/newBTSCPress.htm

(16) *”Just before Christmas in 1983, a car bomb detonated outside London's Harrod's department store. Within minutes, trained department store personnel led shoppers out of the store, urging them to evacuate the area in case a second bomb was planted nearby. Police officers, appearing from nowhere, kept everyone -- except for the six dead -- moving. In Europe, terrorism has been a way-of-life for years. But U.S. shoppers -- and mall owners -- have been slow to prepare. Ever since Sept. 11, mall operators have been preparing for the unthinkable: a shopping center bombing.

So what are mall owners doing to reduce threats and make shoppers feel secure? They are retraining guards, installing closed-circuit television equipment, running evacuation drills, installing shock-resistant glass and redirecting traffic flow, among other measures.

Many are looking abroad and taking notes from the hard-learned lessons of other countries, especially Israel and Britain. So far, they've resisted the scariest and most overt measures that might frighten shoppers away, such as metal detectors, arbitrary searches and physiological profiling -- but perhaps not for long.

September 11 was a terrible wake-up call, especially in the U.S.," says David Levenberg, vice president of loss prevention and security at General Growth Properties Inc., which operates some 200 U.S. malls. "We've taken a number of measures to try and deter any act that might take place." (*Source: News Section, “Security Beat e-mail Newsletter,” © Access Control and Security Systems ®, 11-11-03)

NOTE: The attitude of “… besides my head is well protected by the sand around it,” is a recipe for assured self-destruction.

Enjoy the day,
Bill

[HotelSecurity]

As Bill says we need to look at what has happened elsewhere to see what we have to do. Montreal had the FLQ in the 70's, since then it has been quiet. Working in an hotel I see first hand the attitude of others. An Israeli or Northern Ireland guest will go to the front desk & complain about the suitcase left in the hallway on the 8th floor. A North American guest is more likely to steal it!!

[Bill Warnock]

As Bill says we need to look at what has happened elsewhere to see what we have to do. Montreal had the FLQ in the 70's, since then it has been quiet. Working in an hotel I see first hand the attitude of others. An Israeli or Northern Ireland guest will go to the front desk & complain about the suitcase left in the hallway on the 8th floor. A North American guest is more likely to steal it!!
Well said HotelSecurity. There is one hole in many of the security plans I've been asked to evaluate. That hole is coordination with outside agencies on whom they will depend upon for assistance. On the bottom of most plans the coordination for the most part is limited to in-house coordination which should be on the Requested Action Page sent to all the internal divisions within the corporation. Then there is a separate Requested Action Page that accompanies the DRAFT Plan taken to local police, fire and emergency response personnel to include the local or regional hospital.
These agencies must review the plan and incorporate it into their master plan. Don't let your feelings be hurt when they ask you to make changes to their response portion and ensure other coordinated outside agencies see the comments made by others.
After all changes and suggestions have been considered and or made, send it out for final coordination. And whatever else you do, ensure the names and telephone numbers of the agencies who will support your plan are current and kept up-to-date. Nothing is more discouraging that to find out the names of agencies have changed and your contact names list people who retired, died or transferred out of the job. In time of emergency, nothing is more discouraging than to dial a number and be told that number is no longer in service.
Avoid the temptation to "short-sheet" the coordination system by having an
Assumptions Page stating as cold hard fact that we assume these agencies listed will be able to respond to our needs when we haven't even said boo to them.
Then after all is said and done the plan must be practiced and player participate to include the selected alternates. When weaknesses are noted by those chosen to be referees, take immediate corrective action and then reschedule another drill. Get representatives from the police, fire and hospital to participate. This means coordination well in advance of the exercise date.
When one irate client told me, "Mr. Warnock, you can't expect military precision and have people snap to." I responded in as dour an expression that could be mustered, "Would you rather see your people hustle now or be moved out in body bags?" All this poor man did was look down at the ground and slowly shake his head. That response sunk in.
Trite but true, "It is hard to make chicken soup with chicken manure." Show me an efficient police, fire, hospital, baseball, football, basketball team or military unit successful in their endevors having never practiced?
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[HotelSecurity]

Bill, the Montreal Fire Departmen as most major city fire departments require that hotels & other places where the public gathers have a written plan that has to be submitted to them & approved. The only problem I have with it is they only approve a plan that is based on office building evacuation. They will not except one made especially for hotels. The ask for staff to clear rooms, floors wardens etc. In most hotels we are full of staff in the daytime but the tourists are out touring & the businessmen are out at business meetings. At night my downtown hotel can have 2000 guests with 4 or 5 staff. I have been fighting the fire department for years over this. So much so that I actually have 2 plans. One approved by the fire department in a nice well kept binder & another that we really use:(

[Bill Warnock]

HotelSecurity you are in an unfortunate situation. I should hope the FD has stated in writing what is acceptable to them. If they have failed to do so, then your best bet would be to prepare a memorandum of understanding signed by your corporate counsel and a certified copy sent to the Chief of the Fire Department. You are wise to keep a copy of your own plan that will cover most contingencies and have that staffed with your corporate counsel.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[SecTrainer]

Show me an efficient police, fire, hospital, baseball, football, basketball team or military unit successful in their endevors having never practiced?
Enjoy the day,
Bill

Of course, the problem faced by HotelSecurity is that he can't drill the majority of his evacuees - i.e., the guests who will need to flee the building in the event of fire.

I was in a very good hotel in Vegas once when the fire alarm went off at about 3 a.m. It was complete pandemonium and I have to admit that even with my training I had not bothered to read the fire instructions that were posted on the inside of every room when I checked in. Fortunately, there was no fire (and that caused a PR crisis for the hotel), but you can bet I've never made that mistake again!

It's odd what happens to your pants and shoes when the fire alarm goes off in a hotel...you can bet they won't be where you put them.

[HotelSecurity]

Well Bill, they have a template with fill in the blanks. I fill them in, I have the Maids as the floor Wardens etc except if you ever roamed an hotel during the day time I would be surprised if you found 5% of the guests in their rooms. Another problem we have is when the otel is not busy a Maid assigned to the 19th floor can be given rooms on the 2nd floor. According the city fire plan she is supposed to go up to the 19th floor when their is an alarm! Plus we have a Miad that is deaf. She does a grwat job cleaning rooms but in case of a fire alarm we have to go help her, she can not help guests :(

[N. A. Corbier]

Of course, the problem faced by HotelSecurity is that he can't drill the majority of his evacuees - i.e., the guests who will need to flee the building in the event of fire.

I was in a very good hotel in Vegas once when the fire alarm went off at about 3 a.m. It was complete pandemonium and I have to admit that even with my training I had not bothered to read the fire instructions that were posted on the inside of every room when I checked in. Fortunately, there was no fire (and that caused a PR crisis for the hotel), but you can bet I've never made that mistake again!

It's odd what happens to your pants and shoes when the fire alarm goes off in a hotel...you can bet they won't be where you put them.

I was in a hotel at one point when the fire alarm went off. What was worse than not being able to find my pants or shoes was that I just got in, was in full uniform, with rig.

So, evacuating, everyone immediately thought that I was the security guard and asked what happened, etc. :(

When I found the actual guard, he was in-house, wore a generic security uniform shirt and a hotel name tag, and was hastily dressed. Which meant that everyone continued to ask the man in the nice uniform and smokey bear hat what was going on, even the police.

About 20% of the hotel actually evacuated. The fire department had to bust two doors in, the occupants were sleeping and refused to open the door.

[HotelSecurity]

About asking security what is going on during a fire alarm. We usually don't know. I am very fortunate in that in Montreal if there are a minimum of 3 staff on duty, we are allowed to have a 2 stage fire alarm system. With this system the general alarm only rings if an evacuation is required. The pre-alarm is not heard by guests. The 2 man "brigade" (Maintenance & Security) investigate while 1 person stands by the fire panel. If there is ANY sign of a real fire then the general aalrm is turned on. It has a fail safe in that if the pre-alarm is not acknowledged the general alarm will automatically ring after 3 minutes.

Very necessary especially these past few months while we are having a new system installed. We are having more than 50 alarms per month!