Archived Content. Contenu archivé

Transcription

1 ARCHIVED - Archiving Content ARCHIVÉE - Contenu archivé Archived Content Contenu archivé Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available. L information dont il est indiqué qu elle est archivée est fournie à des fins de référence, de recherche ou de tenue de documents. Elle n est pas assujettie aux normes Web du gouvernement du Canada et elle n a pas été modifiée ou mise à jour depuis son archivage. Pour obtenir cette information dans un autre format, veuillez communiquer avec nous. This document is archival in nature and is intended for those who wish to consult archival documents made available from the collection of Public Safety Canada. Some of these documents are available in only one official language. Translation, to be provided by Public Safety Canada, is available upon request. Le présent document a une valeur archivistique et fait partie des documents d archives rendus disponibles par Sécurité publique Canada à ceux qui souhaitent consulter ces documents issus de sa collection. Certains de ces documents ne sont disponibles que dans une langue officielle. Sécurité publique Canada fournira une traduction sur demande.

2 1+1 Emergency Preparedness Protection civile Canada Canada BOMB THREAT MANUAL

3 EMERGENCY PFtEPAREDNESS CANADA NUMBER *EPC 1/82 *EPC 2/81 EPC 3/88 *EPC 4/82 EPC 5/89 *EPC 6/82 *EPC 7/78 *EPC 8/78 *EPC 9/78 *EPC 10/85 EPC 11/89 EPC 12/87 *EPC 13/80 *EPC 14/81 *EPC 15/82 *EPC 16/81 *EPC 17/81 EPC 18/87 EPC 19/87 EPC 20/88 *EPC 21/81 EPC 22/88 EPC 23/90 EPC 24/88 *EPC 25/83 EPC 26/88 TITLE Rustic Plan (confidential) Planning Guidance in Relation to a Nuclear Attack on North America in the Bomb Threat Manual Emergency Preparedness Canada Readiness Plan Government of Canada Alert Dissemination Manual Manual of Responsibilities and Procedures in Peacetime Emergencies or Disasters Emergency Government Headquarters Operational Procedures Planning Guide Emergency Government Headquarters Staff Procedures Planning Guide Civil Emergency Communications Operation Guide A Guide to Civil Emergency Planning for Municipalities Nuclear Weapons Effects and Damage Estimation Manual (restricted distribution) Guide to the Preservation of Essential Records Concepts of Emergency Operations in the Life-Saving Period Standing Operating Procedures for Staffing those Positions Assigned to Canada in the Nato Civil Wartime Agencies (confidential) Situation Room Standing Operating Procedures (discontinued) Joint Standing Orders and Operational Procedures for the Central Emergency Government Facility Central Relocation Unit Operational Procedures and Administrative Instructions Space Objects Contingency Plan Omnibus, An Emergency Warning System for Public Service Employees of the National Capital Region Message Writing Manual for Emergency Government Headquarters Procedures for the Coordination of Crisis Management Operations Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements Guidelines for National Emergency Arrangements Joint Emergency Preparedness Program Procedures for Operating Kitchens in Emergency Government Facilities Vital Points Manual * This manual is not available. The information contained is not current and is being updated.

4 , BOMB THREAT MANUAL, e e,e \Ç q> e e e e \,z. '. - se -... e e t,,,e.' Nee e.,e, 'le - *, e. cv e.,'.\... revect,. EPC - U c) JUIL - I; se 1 ) e re> / / tect in%1 ---

5 FOREWORD 1. This revision supersedes the GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING DEPARTMENTAL POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR DEALING WITH BOMB THREATS issued in 1978, and again in The title of the document has been shortened to BOMB THREAT MANUAL. Although originally designed for the guidance of federal departments, its use has become so widespread that it has been re-written for a more general audience. The manual has also been reorganized; for rapid reference, foldout pages (Annexes) have been included at the end as a simple aide-mémoire that can be employed during a crisis. 3. Account has been taken of the 1986 issue of Part IV to the Labour Code, which, among its many provisions, makes it mandatory for the employer to advise federal public service employees when there are hazards, such as bomb threats, in the workplace.

6 DISTRIBUTION Although this manual is unclassified, distribution is to be restricted within the federal government, provincial and municipal governments and industry on a need-to-know basis for the formulation of emergency plans dealing with bomb threats. Publication of this manual, in whole or in part, is prohibited without the permission of Emergency Preparedness Canada. il

7 CONTENTS Foreword Distribution ii GENERAL Introduction 1 Security 2 Emergency Organization and Functions 3 Headquarters Emergency Organization and Functions 4 Elements of the Headquarters Directive 5 The Responsible Building Authority 5 The Bomb Threat Control Team 6 Employee Responsibilities 7 Federal Government Public Service Employee Concerns 7 Training 7 Preventing Panic 8 Emergency Control Centre(s) 8 After an Explosion 9 Temporary Relocation 9 Reporting Incidents 10 Police with Local Jurisdiction 10 Co-ordination 11 II GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING BUILDING EMERGENCY MEASURES TO DEAL WITH BOMB THREATS General 13 Building Security 13 Personnel Security 14 Guards and Commissionaires 15 Preventive Education 16 A Building Bomb Threat Plan 16 III BOMB THREATS AND COUNTERMEASURES Types of Bomb Threats The Hoax Bomb Threat Telephone Bomb Threats Tracing and Recording Threatening Calls Questioning a Caller Letter and Note Bomb Threats Specific and Non-Specific Bomb Threats IV BOMB EMERGENCY PROCEDURES FOR BUILDINGS Bomb Emergency Procedures 25 A Building Bomb Threat Control Team 25

8 Finding a Suspicious Package (see foldout Annex A) Evaluating a Bomb Threat Responding to a Bomb Threat During Non-Working Hours Responding to a Bomb Threat During Working Hours If No Bomb Found V VI SEARCH AND EVACUATION PROCEDURES Search Procedures 31 Roles for Other Personnel During Searches 32 Searching Office and Work Areas 32 Searching Public Access Areas and Evacuation Routes 33 Bomb Threat Control Team Intercommunications 34 Evacuation 34 Complete Evacuation 35 Partial Evacuation 36 Assembly Areas 36 Re-occupation of a Building 37 Proposed Public Address Announcements 37 LETTER BOMBS AND COUNTERMEASURES General 39 Letter Bombs 39 Soft and Hardcover Book Bombs 40 Countermeasures Against Letter Bombs 40 Detection of Letter Bombs 42 Action on Discovery of a Letter Bomb 43 Actions to be Avoided on Discovery of a Letter Bomb 44 VII FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PUBLIC SERVICE 47 EMPLOYEE CONCERNS

9 A ANNEXES (B to E foldout, Aide-Mémoire) Suggested Bilingual Public Address Announcements - Evacuation of the mobility impaired Report of a possible bomb - evacuation of selected floors - Evacuation of other floors - Evacuation due to an explosion - Suspected hoax bomb threat, search prior to evacuation - No bomb located - evacuation of floors reported clear Description of a suspicious item - Bomb threat during silent hours - emergency evacuation without a search - End of emergency Telephone Bomb Threat Questionnaire Bomb Threat Procedures - During Working Hours D Bomb Threat Procedures - During Non-Working Hours Bomb Threat Procedures - Suspicious Package Found (Anytime)

10 CHAPTER I GENERAL Introduction 1. This manual was originally prepared to amplify and complement the 1970 government of Canada directive in which federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations were made responsible for developing an organization to meet bomb threats. The BOMB THREAT MANUAL was broadened to provide guidelines for provincial and municipal governments as little literature exists on which to base plans or actions in the face of such threats. 2. It should be noted that the suggestions and advice given in these guidelines are not directives. The responsibility for decisions to implement them lies solely with the governments, departments and agencies involved. As special funds have not been made available for protection against bomb threats, each department and agency is responsible for supporting its own program and personnel costs. 3. When considering the development of a suitable emergency organization and plan the following will be of major concern: the safety of personnel the protection of valuable property and of equipment the probability of any substantial threat to particular buildings assigning low priority to those buildings for which the threat is very low or the provision of reasonable protection is either impractical or unacceptably costly. the time loss resulting from responding to bomb threats 1

11 4. It should be recognized that any attempt to achieve 100 per cent protection is generally impractical. Some compromise is necessary, therefore it is important to understand the aims and methods of those who use bomb threats. 5. The principle aim of a bomb threat is to disrupt and discredit the government or the targeted agency. Occasionally bomb threats are employed by disgruntled employees; sometimes they are simply hoaxes. Nevertheless all bomb threats must be treated seriously. 6. Bomb threats may be averted or countered by: security searches for explosives evacuation of a threatened area. 7. It is important that the interplay of these measures be recognized as the decisions that will have to be made after receipt of a bomb threat will depend upon the degree of preparation of each measure within a threatened building. Security 8. The purpose of a security system is twofold: to deny access of target areas to would-be bomb carriers to detect rapidly the presence of any suspicious object or person. 2

12 9. The levels of security, based upon the control of access, are: controlled access to all the approaches to a building controlled access to all entrances and exits to a building controlled circulation within a building to both public and non-public areas additional controlled access to sections of a building with important equipment, facilities or information requiring a high degree of security (restricted areas). 10. Prerequisites to effective use of these levels of security are that: employees have been fully briefed on bomb threats; they are alert and observant with regard to unauthorized persons and suspicious objects there is scrupulous house-keeping throughout buildings so that potential hiding places that could be used for the unobtrusive placing of bombs are reduced to an absolute minimum. 11. Moving from this basic level of security to higher levels increases costs. Account should be taken of the cost of increasing security measures against the possible loss of work hours from bomb threats and hoaxes. Emergency Organization and Functions 12. There should be an emergency organization to prepare plans for responding to bomb threats and to develop protective security measures for averting bomb incidents. It is recommended that each government, department and agency should therefore establish: 3

13 a staff committee at headquarters level, chaired by a designated representative, which should include senior security and emergency planning officers, to develop emergency plans for the entire organization as well as the procedures for implementing them. in each building where there may be a threat: - a responsible building authority - a staff organization for the planning, implementation and carrying out of emergency measures which in this manual will be referred to as the bomb threat control team - an emergency control centre(s) where the responsible building authority and the operations team can evaluate the threat and control emergency operations. 13. In developing departmental policy it should be remembered that bomb threats are but one of the various types of emergencies that may occur in a building or an organization. Therefore it is recommended that the policy for dealing with bomb threats should be integrated, as far as possible, with that developed to meet other emergencies such as the implementation of the Fire Commissioner of Canada Standard for Fire Organizations, FCC No. 14. In most buildings the fire emergency organization, with some additional training, may take on the tasks of the bomb threat control team. Headquarters Emergency Organization and Functions 14. A designated representative should be responsible for the following actions through the headquarters planning staff: establishing policy by development of plans and directives ensuring implementation of security measures and operational plans at each building 4

14 co-ordination of the security measures and bomb threat plans developed far each building. Elements of the Headquarters Directive 15. A directive should advise the staff of each building of the security measures they are required to develop and the plans they should prepare to deal with bomb threats. The suggested main elements of the headquarters directive are: building organization and functions security measures responding to a bomb threat during working hours responding to a bomb threat during non-working hours roles for emergency personnel reporting co-ordination training and exercises. The Responsible Building Authority* 16. The responsible building authority is required to: supervise the preparation of emergency measures for countering bomb threats control the assignment of emergency functions to selected personnel and delegate the appropriate authorities direct emergency measures for the building after receipt of a bomb threat. *Where buildings are occupied by more than one department or organization, the department occupying the greatest space will provide the responsible building authority and chair an emergency committee of all departments, agencies and private enterprise housed in the building (see Chapter II, paragraphs 9, 10).

15 17. The senior official designated as the responsible building authority should have several alternates so that the emergency organization's effectiveness is not limited by absences of personnel. The Bomb Threat Control Team 18. The bomb threat control team will be composed of voluntary supervisory and management personnel. The team should also include maintenance and service volunteers. The bomb threat control team is normally organized to staff the emergency control centre(s), to control, search and supervise the evacuation of the following areas: each floor, the common/public areas, utilities and maintenance areas. The emergency organization dealing with bomb threats in each building normally shall be based on the fire emergency organization amplified as required. It is under the direction of the responsible building authority. The bomb threat control team will be required to: prepare the building bomb threat plan. co-ordinate with outside agencies implement appropriate protective security measures against bomb threats develop and operate an emergency control centre(s). provide a system of rapid response and passage of information from all areas of the building to the emergency control centre(s) provide an effective and rapid search procedure provide a swift and smooth evacuation procedure. 6

16 Employee Responsibilities 19. It should be emphasized that whoever discovers a suspicious object should not touch or move it. Employees of buildings in which there has been a bomb threat will not be involved in bomb searches except within their own work spaces. The volunteers of the bomb threat control team are trained to search for bombs in common and public areas as well as the utilities and service areas. However, each employee knows his/her work space best and is best equipped to recognize an unidentified package in that area. It is each employee's duty to perform a visual inspection of his/her work space when so requested. This employee/own work space search will save time and can save lives by relieving bomb threat control teams or police from searching areas not familiar to them. Reiterating the initial statement, any building occupant discovering an unidentified package should not approach it or touch it but report it to his/her supervisor or the emergency control centre. Federal Government Public Service Employee Concerns 20. Some concern has been expressed by federal public service employees about their status during bomb threats, searches for suspicious objects and possible explosions. Questions causing the most concern have been referred to the Treasury Board's Staff Relations Division and to Labour Canada. The questions and answers are set out in Chapter VII. Training 21. It will be necessary for the responsible building authority to develop reasonable precautions, educate and train the staff for their own safety as well as the safety of visitors to a building. Continual education of the occupants of a building, along with precautionary drills carried out from time to time are the most effective ways in which employees may be kept trained and alerted and able to carry out their responsibilities smoothly when emergencies arise. 7

17 Preventing Panic 22. An effective pre-emergency program of informing employees of their role in an emergency, coupled with strong competent leadership will go far toward preventing panic. Pre-emergency preparations should include arrangements to facilitate movement along evacuation routes and the positioning of the bomb threat control team where they can take command and give calm, decisive instructions at places where evacuees might tend to congregate. Evacuation should be exercised periodically. When evacuation procedures have been exercised and mastered by the bomb threat control team and the employees, surprise evacuations may be considered. Emergency Control Centre(s) 23. A bomb threat control team emergency control centre should be located on the main floor of a building. Should it become impossible to occupy this centre due to the type of bomb threat there should be an alternate centre in an adjacent building at least 100 metres away. 24. In establishing an emergency control centre, consideration should be given to the requirements for security of the centre, and the need for communication inside and outside the building. This could be a security centre, switchboard or any other location meeting the required needs. An emergency control centre should not be staffed before being searched and found safe from the effects of a possible detonation. Planning should include the location(s) of temporary emergency control centres in or outside the building which can be quickly cleared for immediate use until it is possible to staff the primary location. Similarly, an emergency control centre away from the building may be required if the primary location is threatened by a reported bomb. 8

18 25. The emergency control centre(s) should be fully prepared and stocked for an emergency, operational at a moment's notice. It should be supplied with a variety of stores and information such as pencils, papers, warning signs, posters, mobile barriers, lists of duties of emergency personnel, standard operating procedures for the emergency control centre(s), building blueprints, floor plans, services plans, location of handicapped employees, communications equipment (telephones, megaphones, portable radios, tape recorders) etc. After an Explosion 26. If an explosion takes place a decision should be made by the responsible building authority about the disposition of employees while the condition of the building and its contents are being investigated. Advice should be obtained from the fire department and structural engineers as to whether all or part of the building can be re-occupied before such a decision is made. 27. The police with local jurisdiction will normally be responsible for conducting an investigation after any explosion. However, when a department has trained security personnel available they may also take part at the request of the police. All personnel should be warned that no evidence is to be touched or removed from the scene until the investigation is completed. Temporary Relocation 28. It is always difficult to estimate the degree of damage to a building as a result of a bomb blast and the subsequent effects on structure and accommodation. If the building is small the resultant damage might require total evacuation until repairs are effected. A large modern office block might only require the evacuation of several floors while repairs are made. 29. In federal government buildings the regional directors of Public Works Canada, with offices in 9

19 Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver and Halifax, are responsible for providing accommodation for temporary relocation. However, to enable them to meet such requirements they would need to know the number of people involved and those that should be kept together as a unit such as a section, division or branch - so that the need may be matched, as far as possible, to available accommodation. Reporting Incidents 30. Bomb threats must be reported to the police with local jurisdiction as soon as possible after the incident. Police with Local Jurisdiction 31. The police force with jurisdiction over an individual building is not always self-evident. Local geography as well as federal, provincial, regional and municipal authorities complicate police jurisdiction. 32. The police should always be consulted when drawing up and exercising bomb threat plans. Both the police with local jurisdiction and the RCMP are anxious to assist in bomb threat planning and training. On request police will attempt to provide an instructor to assist in training or at least visual aid support. 33. The police are not responsible for searching for bombs, although they may assist in difficult areas such as underground garages, particularly if they have specialist dogs or explosive detecting devices. 34. It is the responsibility of the police to assign an explosive disposal team once an unidentified package has been located within their jurisdiction. When an explosive disposal team is at the site of a bomb threat it will provide advice and support to the responsible building authority. Under the direction of the responsible building authority, the explosive disposal team, the police, the control centre, and the bomb threat control team, will all work together to 10

20 neutralize the threat and remove the danger from the building. Co-ordination 35. It is recommended that the protective security measures and the bomb threat plan for each building be submitted to, and reviewed annually by the responsible authority. In the federal government the deputy head of each department or agency or his or her designated representative is the authority. 11

21

22 CHAPTER II GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING BUILDING EMERGENCY MEASURES TO DEAL WITH BOMB THREATS General 1. The following emergency measures should be employed only to the extent required to deal with bomb threats or bombing incidents experienced at a particular location. In some areas of Canada, where bomb scares are relatively commonplace, these emergency measures should be adjusted to local conditions. 2. Protective security measures are designed to prevent bombing incidents. Experience has shown that not only will such measures mitigate the effects of such incidents but reduce the frequency of bomb threats. Before beginning the development of security measures it is advisable to meet with police and/or the local explosive disposal team to inspect and identify areas in a building where explosives or incendiaries might be placed and concealed. Building Security 3. Building security measures should be designed to control access to a building and to limit the areas normally available to the public. Non-public areas of a building are hereafter referred to as restricted areas. Measures departments should consider include:. arranging entrances and exits to building or departmental areas to channel all personnel by a reception desk. ensuring that doors to unoccupied areas such as closets, storage areas, machine rooms, etc., are securely locked when not in use 13. checking key control procedures to ensure there is minimum distribution and that all

23 keys are accounted for and locks changed immediately when keys are missing ensuring that freight, roof-top, and parking garage entrances are controlled to eliminate unauthorized access or egress of people, vehicles or packages. 4. More drastic building security measures that might be considered, depending on the threat, include: providing or improving perimeter fences, walls or barriers and ensuring that they are a throw/blast-safe distance away from buildings protecting ground floor windows with heavy mesh grillwork or protective glass. Personnel Security 5. Personnel security measures should be designed to control access into a building and to control the introduction of packages of all types. Measures to be considered include: providing all employees with identification cards and/or passes registering all visitors entering a building and either having them meet the official they wish to visit in the lobby or by escorting them to the person they wish to see having the reception staff check parcels and packages being delivered to a building or brought in by visitors and employees. 14

24 Guards and Commissionaires 6. Security measures relating to the function of guards and commissionaires should be designed to increase surveillance and control of public areas in the building. Precautions to which departments should give consideration include: arranging random patrols of public places, such as restrooms, stairwells, corridors to ensure that unauthorized personnel are not loitering and that no unidentified packages are left unattended arranging supervision of freight and mail reception areas, garages and parking areas ensuring that waste receptacles and large ashtrays are kept to the minimum in public areas and hallways conducting frequent checks to ensure that waste material or objects providing possible hiding places are not left lying around in public areas.* 7. Another measure that might be considered to increase the control over public areas, depending on the seriousness of the threat, is the installation of metal and/or explosive detecting devices through which all visitors, employees and their packages must pass. *Explosives disposal experts highly recommend that coloured plastic disposal bags (garbage bags) and metal or plastic garbage cans or receptacles not be used. For obvious resons, wire or plastic mesh baskets/containers and clear plastic bags are recommended. 15

25 Preventive Education 8. Preventive education measures are designed to complement the security measures outlined in preceding paragraphs. Precautionary measures departments should consider include: instructing all security and maintenance personnel to be alert for suspicious looking and acting individuals. instructing all employees to be alert for unauthorized personnel in restricted areas. instructing all employees to be alert for foreign or suspicious objects, items or parcels that do not appear to belong in the area where they are observed training and exercises designed to maintain the efficiency of the organization instructing all employees not to touch or approach suspicious objects and to notify a supervisor immediately. A Building Bomb Threat Plan 9. The ideal situation for the preparation of a bomb threat plan exists when a department, agency or organization is the only occupant of a building. In multi-tenant buildings it is essential that a single co-ordinated plan is prepared by the bomb threat control team (committee of occupants) under the direction of the responsible building authority. In multi-tenant buildings the responsible building authority should co-ordinate emergency plans and operations (see Chapter I, paragraph 16). 10. In a multi-tenant building having private, public, various departments and possibly different levels of government, the responsible building authority should attempt to have all occupants represented on the committee. Plans and exercises, where possible should 16

26 include all occupants. Even if some tenant organizations refuse to participate/co-operate, they should be included in the bomb threat procedure, at least the warning. 17

27

28 Types of Bomb Threats CHAPTER III BOMB THREATS AND COUNTERMEASURES 1. There are three types of bomb threats: a hoax a telephone threat a letter or note threat. The Hoax Bomb Threat 2. A hoax bomb threat is a false threat, one that does not include explosives. The hoax is by far the most common bomb threat in Canada. The hoax bomb threat is one where a disgruntled or mentally deranged person wishes to disrupt the work schedule of an office or undermine the morale of the employees of a building by anonymously telephoning or writing a threat. The hoax may, but more often will not, include a pre-positioned suspicious object. A well-conceived hoax bomb will be very realistic and only an expert may judge its lethality. 3. Until proven otherwise a hoax bomb threat, even if it only involves a note or a curt telephone call, must be taken seriously. Unless there is sufficient evidence to the contrary any bomb threat, whether a hoax is suspected or not, will necessitate a bomb emergency procedure. Telephone Bomb Threats 4. Whenever a telephone bomb threat is received, the person handling the call should remain calm and appear unharried. Panic is contagious and should be avoided as it may result in personal injuries and property damage. 19

29 5. When a bomb threat call is received, the person answering it should remember to do many things, all of which will aid in the search for the device (unless the call is unfounded) and provide authorities with as much information as possible in their investigation. 6. Even the best contingency plan will not prevent bomb threats from disrupting normal daily activities. However, disruption can be minimized if the employee knows how to handle the bomb threat call. Generally, there are two reasons for most threat calls: the caller knows or believes an explosive or incendiary device has been or will be placed and wants to minimize personal injuries and/or property damage. In this case, the caller may or may not be the person who placed the device the caller wants to create anxiety and panic, thereby disrupting normal activities. In this case, the caller may simply be a disgruntled employee wanting time off. 7. Regardless of the motive of the caller, the threat must be taken seriously and handled calmly to avoid panic. Personnel well versed in following procedures in the event of a bomb threat will ensure the safest possible handling of the incident. 8. Organizations most likely to receive bomb threats (i.e. embassies, schools, airlines, airports, etc.) should actively train all relevant personnel to handle such threats and should train all other personnel to follow procedures if such threats are received. All procedures incorporated within the contingency plan should be tested thoroughly in exercises to ensure their effectiveness. 9. Telephone threats can be divided into two categories: a caller who is brief and gives few details; and the caller who volunteers information and/or can be coerced into providing additional details. The person receiving a bomb threat should keep three 20

30 principles in mind when dealing with a threatening call, lives may depend on the listener's astuteness: keep calm attempt to have the call traced/recorded attempt to extract as much information as possible. Tracing and Recording Threatening Calls* 10. Late in 1986 Bell Canada obtained agreement from the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission that in future tracing calls such as bomb threat calls would only be done at the request of a police agency. Therefore when preparing bomb threat plans and exercises, planners should verify with the police with local jurisdiction, how this process can be made to work effectively. Depending on local arrangements, a person receiving a bomb threat should endeavour to attract a colleague's attention, have him/her call the police and have them attempt to put a trace/recording on the appropriate line. This action can be initiated either by a pre-arranged signal or by a written note to anyone in the area, e.g. "initiate call trace to the police on my number." 11. A telephone bomb threat questionnaire is to be found in foldout Annex B. If many copies are required, Supply and Services Canada provides on request "Bomb Threat Telephone Procedures" handouts. English: French: Receptionists, telephone operators and employees handling most incoming telephone calls should be informed and exercised regularly in the bomb threat telephone procedure and have the handout nearby. *In the foreseeable future an option available on new telephone sets will be an incoming call phone number indicator. In this case the person receiving a bomb threat call need only record the incoming phone number. 21

31 Questioning a Caller 12. If a bomb threat caller shows any desire to talk, the person receiving the call should lend a sympathetic yet inquisitive ear. One should attempt to draw out the caller and obtain as much information about the bomb as possible. The following questions may be appropriate: Why are you calling? When is the bomb going to explode? Where is the bomb now? What kind of a bomb is it? What does it look like? Why did you place a bomb in this building? What group or political affiliation do you belong to? Do you realize people may be killed and injured? (request more data by expressing a desire to save lives). Any other appropriate leading questions. 13. When the bomb threat caller has terminated the call it will be necessary to report, in as great a detail as possible, everything that was learned from the call. Under the stress of such a call many individuals will find it helpful to make written notes of questions asked and replies given. As well as the facts concerning the bomb, emergency personnel and police investigators will be interested in characteristics of the caller such as: estimated age sex 22

32 sobriety education level mental condition speech characteristics (accent, shrillness, impediment, slow, excited, disguised, sincere, fast, etc.) background noises anything else noticed. 14. Immediately after a bomb threat call has been terminated and supervisors have been alerted, the person who received the call should write down everything that can be remembered, recording the exact words used by the caller, and the time the call began and ended. Some individuals remember better when they are questioned by another while a third person records all the details. A witness to a bomb threat or a person receiving a bomb threat telephone call should go to the control centre or be made available to investigators until the incident is resolved. Letter and Note Bomb Threats 15. Bomb threats may come in written form. It could be a letter through the mail or arriving by courier. A threat may come in the form of a note left in a public place such as a washroom, at an unattended desk or stuck to an elevator control panel. The message may also be written on a wall or mirror. It is important to preserve the written message and to handle it as little as possible so that investigators may inspect it for fingerprints or other evidence. 16. As with all bomb threats, a written one must be taken seriously and reported to the building authorities for assessment and possible bomb emergency procedures. Specific and Non-Specific Bomb Threats 17. Whether a bomb threat is received over the telephone or via a written message, it may be specific 23

33 or non-specific. A non-specific bomb threat is one that provides little or no detail other than a statement that there is a bomb in the building. A non-specific threat may target a whole complex of buildings or an entire department. A specific threat includes specific, critical details such as time of explosion, location, type of bomb, and possibly a description of the package. Whether a threat is specific or not it cannot be discounted. Specific bomb threats usually indicate a desire on the part of the bomber to prevent casualties and unless there is evidence to the contrary his/her information should be taken at face value. Therefore a specific bomb threat will provide valuable information for the initial search pattern. 24

34 CHAPTER IV BOMB EMERGENCY PROCEDURES FOR BUILDINGS Bomb Emergency Procedures 1. Once a bomb threat has been received or a suspicious package found, the building emergency bomb threat procedure must be put into effect unless there is strong evidence to the contrary. Ideally the bomb emergency procedure will be the subject of a detailed plan familiar to all the building occupants and which has been exercised at least annually. 2. Annexes B, C, D and E are foldout aide-mémoire(s) to the emergency bomb threat procedures. The numbers in parenthesis in Annexes C, D and E refer to the chapters and paragraphs of this manual which provide additional details for the bomb emergency procedure. A Building Bomb Threat Control Team 3. The building bomb threat control team consists of: the responsible building authority. the control centre(s). a volunteer group of utilities and maintenance personnel a volunteer group - of supervisors and management personnel on each floor. the security force on duty. 4. In the case of a bomb threat, as well as for planning and during exercises, the bomb threat control team will be supported as required by the local: 25

35 police fire department ambulance service explosive disposal team. Finding a Suspicious Package (see foldout Annex E) 5. A bomb may take many forms: a letter, a mailed or delivered package, a lunch box, a briefcase, a light bulb, a propane tank, a large packing case, a car or a truck. A suspicious object of any size or shape should never be approached, jarred, handled, or anything attached to it touched. The removal, neutralizing or disarming of a suspicious object must be left to an explosive disposal team. 6. An employee finding a suspicious object should memorize the area in which the object is located as well as details of the object itself. The aim is to describe the item in detail to possible owners and more importantly to describe the scene and the suspicious object to an explosive disposal team, should one be called. 7. Before requesting outside assistance, employees and visitors should be canvassed to determine if they recognize, from the description, the unidentified object. A suspected bomb could be an employee's new briefcase, a misplaced package or a visiting repairman's tool box. However, any suspicious object which cannot be identified is cause for concern and should trigger a building's bomb emergency procedure. Evaluating a Bomb Threat 8. When a bomb threat is made against a building, unless there is convincing evidence to the contrary, it must be taken seriously. The bomb emergency procedure will normally be put into effect upon receipt of any 26

36 bomb threat. The bomb threat control team will decide the degree of response, taking into account police or other expert advice. Responding to a Bomb Threat During Non-Working Hours (see foldout Annex D) 9. Research has indicated that in most instances where a bomb is placed inside a building it has been timed to detonate during non-working hours. In such a case any bomb threat call would usually be received by the police but a call may be made to guards or commissionaires on duty or to senior departmental officials. 10. Arrangements should be made with the local police department and any staff on duty in the building during non-working hours to notify immediately the responsible building authority, who should: order immediate evacuation of any occupants such as janitorial and maintenance staff advise the local police department, if the call was not received through them, and the fire department. arrange for any necessary guarding of the building. 11. When a bomb threat has been received during non-working hours and no detonation has taken place by the following morning, the search procedure described in Chapter V, paragraphs should be carried out before re-occupying the building. Responding to a Bomb Threat During Working Hours (see foldout Annex C) 12. In responding to a bomb threat during working hours a great deal of concurrent activity will take place on the part of the bomb threat control team. Depending on the situation the team will on receipt of a threat: 27

37 activate the bomb threat control team activate the emergency control centre(s) advise the security staff and the responsible building authority warn the police and fire departments of the threat and have them standby evaluate the threat. 13. Unless there is very strong evidence that a bomb does not exist, the bomb threat control team will concurrently: Warn employees of the danger. Have the employees visually check their work spaces for any unidentified packages and if none are found, then have them lock up their desks and filing cabinets, leaving doors and windows as they are, either open or shut. Doors should not be locked unless required for security reasons. Have the security staff or the bomb threat control team restrict entry into the building. Bring all elevators down and restrict their use for the descent of the handicapped. Bomb threat control team searches the pre-determined evacuation routes. Bomb threat control team* searches common and public areas (this search is ongoing and evacuation can proceed independently) (see Chapter V, paragraph 11). Utilities and maintenance personnel search maintenance and utility areas (this search is ongoing and evacuation can proceed independently). *If there are sufficient volunteers for the bomb threat control team, the public area search team can operate independently of the evacuation team. However evacuation has priority over public area searches once the evacuation routes have been deemed safe. 28

38 14. If no bomb is found along the evacuation routes the building will be immediately evacuated. Evacuation should always begin with the threatened area followed by the adjacent areas (above, below and beside) and then the remainder of the building. If No Bomb Found 15. If no bomb is found after a reasonable delay, the bomb threat control team, on the advice of the police, should initiate the following emergency procedures:. The bomb threat control team search public areas and evacuation routes again, more thoroughly.. Utilities and maintenance personnel conduct a more detailed search of maintenance and utilities areas.. If a bomb is still not located have employees re-occupy the building and have the employees meticulously and with great care re-examine their work space thoroughly for unidentified objects.. If no bomb is found resume work. 29

39 0

40 CHAPTER V Search Procedures SEARCH AND EVACUATION PROCEDURES 1. It is not a police responsibility to carry out building searches. Even if they can assist, the police always request personnel familiar with a building to accompany them. It is therefore necessary to establish an effective and quick internal search procedure carried out by a trained bomb threat control team made up of volunteer management, supervisory, utilities and maintenance personnel. The use of police dogs trained to search out explosives should be considered if they are available, particularly in areas such as underground garages and large storage areas. 2. An important part of the emergency plan is that each employee will search his/her work space. To this end the chief of the bomb threat control team on each floor would be responsible for: directing the search of the floor or area ensuring that no parts of the area are omitted due to the absence of the assigned personnel receiving search reports from the team members as well as management and supervisory personnel reporting to the responsible building authority in the emergency control centre, through the bomb threat control team system of communications. It is essential that members of the bomb threat control team acquire a thorough knowledge of the public and common areas of the floor or area for which they are responsible. Particular stress should be laid on the position of all access panels, waste paper and towel 31

41 receptacles, cleaning material closets, washrooms as well as fire hose and extinguisher cabinets which have proved to be good places for planting devices. Roles for Other Personnel During Searches 3. The bomb threat control team will include building guard and services personnel whose roles include:. For utilities and maintenance personnel: - searching areas such as utility rooms, closets, furnace and boiler rooms, elevator machinery rooms, elevator shafts, and - shut down all electricity, gas and fuel lines at the main valves or switches, when such action will not damage laboratory or other special equipment and when so directed by the emergency control centre.. For guards and commissionaires: - control entry into a building during a search - keep building exits clear during an evacuation - search public areas such as lobbies, restrooms, elevators, stairwells and building exteriors - search receiving areas, garages and parking lots. Searching Office and Work Areas 4. The most efficient method of searching office and work areas is to have the employees occupying them undertake a quick search of their areas for a suspicious or unusual object. Each person should search his/her own office or area and report any suspicious object to the supervisor who in turn will report to the bomb 32

42 threat control team floor chief. An area should be searched always in the same direction, working from the perimeter to the centre. Searching Public Access Areas and Evacuation Routes 5. The bomb threat control team should search the remaining, non-office areas in an organized manner. Security, maintenance and janitorial staffs will search utility rooms and closets, areas under stairwells, elevator shafts, air-conditioning plants, furnace rooms, flammable storage areas, fan rooms and main switches, transformers, valves for gas and water supplies, the roof, underground garages and areas outside the building including shrubs and bushes. No search area should be so large that it will take an assigned team more than 20 minutes to search it thoroughly. 6. Bombs are usually placed either outside a building or in public areas within the building such as washrooms, lobbies, stairwells, corridors or near elevator shafts. In searching offices, as well as public access areas and evacuation routes for suspicious objects special attention should be paid to: trash receptacles and large ashtrays storage areas false ceiling panels disturbed access panels air-conditioning units disturbed dirt in large plant pots moved furniture draperies fire hose and extinguisher cabinets. 33

43 Bomb Threat Control Team Intercommunications 7. While searching the building, an efficient and rapid two-way communication system* between members of the bomb threat control team on each floor and the emergency control centre through telephones or other methods is of the utmost importance. Communications during bomb threats may be effected, depending upon local conditions by:. special telephones placed at tactical locations to be answered and used by authorized personnel only ("Hot" Lines) a fanout system of telephoning using the existing facilities. Most high-rise buildings are equipped with a public address system enabling messages to be heard on all floors or on selected floors only. Evacuation 8. Factors that will influence a bomb threat control team when making a decision to evacuate a building are:. type of building: - small or large - high rise with central core containing elevators, washrooms and usually two emergency stairwells - two or more storeys, covering a large area, with emergency stairwells distributed around the outside of building relative efficiency of the building emergency communication system. 9. Unless there is very strong evidence that a bomb does not exist, employees should be warned as soon as *-Radio transmitter/receivers (two way radios) should not be employed by search teams for fear of setting off an electrically sensitive explosive device. 34

44 there is a bomb threat. Building occupants will then search their work spaces, lock up and prepare to evacuate. fter evaluating the threat and verifying the evacuation routes the emergency control centre will direct the bomb threat control team to manage an orderly evacuation. Complete Evacuation 10. The same alarm system and evacuation procedures should be used for a bomb threat as for a fire emergency, except that in a bomb threat evacuation there should be closer control. There may be a need for special instructions regarding hazardous areas or evacuation routes to be avoided because of the existence of a real or suspected danger. 11. To manage a bomb threat evacuation and help prevent panic, the same people on the bomb threat control team should be those assigned to supervise a search, as the two functions should not take place concurrently (see Chapter IV, paragraph 13). The floor chief of the bomb threat control team will supervise the evacuation of his/her floor. Each person in the control organization should be assigned to a specific control point with some overseeing the evacuation of mobility impaired employees accompanied by their assigned monitors. 12. The same bomb threat control team members should be used for evacuation as those members employed in searching (see Chapter IV, paragraph 13). They are responsible for:. directing floor evacuation. receivina evacuation reports from assistants. reporting to the emergency control centre. 35

45 Partial Evacuation 13. When, due to a limited threat, partial evacuation of certain Floors or areas of a building is ordered, it will take place only after a search of office spaces and evacuation routes. A general alarm should not be sounded; rather, evacuation instructions should be issued for partial evacuation. Hot-line telephone and public address systems limited to the affected floors are essential for partial evacuation. The whole building will be warned of the danger in the hazard area and that area will be evacuated initially. Areas adjacent to the hazard area would be evacuated next. The remainder of the building may then be evacuated as required. Assembly Areas 14. Evacuation instructions for building occupants should include a designated assembly area or temporary holding areas which should be situated at least 100 metres from the building. Such areas can often be arranged on a reciprocal basis with neighbouring buildings. If such an area is not available a controlled outside holding area should be established far enough away from the building to protect personnel from debris or other effects of a possible detonation. Supervisors may wish to conduct a roll call of their employees in the assembly area. It will be necessary to assign security personnel or personnel from the bomb threat control team to keep building exits clear and prevent crowding in the holding areas. Security personnel will also prevent personnel from re-entering the building or complex until an "all clear" is authorized by the responsible building authority. Where weather conditions preclude the use of outside holding areas it may be necessary to release employees for a specified period. Alternately, the employer may choose to send some or all employees home after taking into consideration the current circumstances, the time it will take before re-occupation is possible and the time of day. Assembly areas should be included early in the search plan to prevent injury from devices which may have been deliberately placed in such areas. 36