Secondary Attacks and Their Countermeasures

In earlier posts, I discussed the critical school safety bomb threats, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and lockdown planning. From a security standpoint, an area that is closely related to these hazards is secondary attacks. For the purpose of this post, integrated school safety refers to the integration of a video surveillance/CCTV, access control, emergency planning and safety training; and a Secondary Attack refers to an attack using either a Secondary Explosive Device or Diversionary Attack or a combination thereof.

Secondary Explosive Device Definition: An explosive device that is placed in an area of evacuation or staging to inflict greater casualties and/or disrupt emergency response.

Diversionary Attack Definition: An attack wherein a force uses a means of deception with the purpose of drawing the target into an area more conducive to attack.

One of the most disturbing aspects of a secondary attack is that it preys on the good intentions of school personnel, who are attempting to protect students from a threat. Nothing is more intuitive than the desire to evacuate students at the sounding of a fire alarm or have them gather outside of a school after receiving a bomb threat. In the event of a fire, or the discovery of a suspicious package, those are not only reasonable actions, but one would be criminally negligent not to enact them. It is the bogus alarm or the baseless bomb threat that should lead school officials to consider the possibility of a secondary attack.

Secondary attacks have been a part of warfare (both conventional and unconventional) for as long as man has engaged in battle. Approximately 25 years ago, secondary attacks directed at emergency response personnel began to occur more frequently in the form of secondary explosive devices. In 1978, an explosion occurred at a state employment office in Colorado causing significant structural damage. Less than 15 minutes later another device exploded at a nearby building. This explosion unintentionally killed the bomber before he could arm a third device that was planted to target emergency response personnel.

It wasn’t until March 24, 1998 in Jonesboro, AR when 13 year old Mitchell Johnson and his cousin 11 year old Andrew Golden brought secondary attacks to our nations schools. As Johnson and Golden waited in the nearby woods, an accomplice pulled the Westside Middle School fire alarm during lunch. As the students were evacuated, they were shot ambush style, killing four students and one teacher and wounding 10 others.

Just over one year later, a secondary attack on a high school was planned using over 70 explosive devices. It is unclear as to whether the explosives were to be the main focus of the attack or supplemental to the use of firearms, but the explosives failed and the two attackers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher before committing suicide.

While these attacks do present distinct challenges for school administrators and emergency responders, there are measures that can be implemented that dramatically reduce risks. These are called Secondary Attach Countermeasures. The area most effected (and improved) by these countermeasures is evacuation planning.

When evacuating a school, the danger should be real, not perceived. A chemistry teacher seeing a fire in the laboratory needs no further evidence to know that the students are in danger. Absent evidence of fire or the discovery of an explosive device, an immediate evacuation is rarely the safest course of action. A fire alarm does not equal fire and a bomb threat does not mean that there is a bomb. These are both issues that need to be taken seriously and acted upon immediately, but the action should rarely be immediate evacuation. Rather, preparation for evacuation should take place as the school’s emergency response team searches for blocked exits, possible explosive devices or other signs of danger.

The benefits of this structured evacuation process is two-fold. First, by sending team members to immediately check exits for availability it allows for the routing of students evacuating to usable exits. In the event of a fire, this measure minimizes congestion and confusion in the areas around the actual fire. Second, this structured approach allows the facility to be used for protection while information is gathered as to the nature of the alarm. Just as teachers should not be instructed to await permission to evacuate when signs of danger exists, they should not automatically evacuate the building solely on the basis of an alarm. A recommended procedure would be as follows:
1. Upon the sounding of a fire alarm, the teacher will immediately scan the hallway or immediate area for evidence of fire.
2. If evidence exist, immediately follow the procedures for evacuation.
3. If no evidence exists, the teacher should prepare the students for evacuation:
A. Obtain Roster and Headcount
B. Allow students to gather personal items within the classroom
C. Line students up inside the room
D. Arrange assistance for students with special needs
E. Leave classroom door open and continue to monitor area for signs of danger.
F. Listen for evacuation or all clear instructions.
G. If after 3 minutes, no information has been announced, proceed with evacuation.

Remember, buildings offer protection in the form of cover and concealment. Cover is protection from gunfire and explosions (and even chemical exposure) and concealment prevents those that would harm you from knowing your exact location. When you evacuate, this protection lost. The primary issue to address when a fire alarm sounds is if there is fire. If there is fire, immediate and orderly evacuation is always the response. If there is not fire, which is the usually the case, the question becomes “Why does someone want us to evacuate?”

Always collaborate with your local responders to address issues such as fire codes, building architecture and response times.

Stay Safe

Brad

This post is provided by SafePlans (www.safeplans.com), an all-hazards preparedness solution including emergency plans, staff training, and detailed site mapping.

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