Utah Bomb Squad Task Force
International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators
Explosive Threats
What is the most likely WMD in the
US?
Types of Terrorist Attacks against
US Interests
from 1998 to 2005 (2776 total)
Bombings
Kidnappings
Shootings
Other
Brief History of Major Incidents
• September 16, 1920
– Wall Street New York City
• August 24, 1970
– University of Wisconsin
• February 26, 1993
– World Trade Center #1
• April 19, 1996
– Oklahoma City Bombing
Wall Street Bombing 1920
Wall Street Bombing 1920
University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin
World Trade Center #1
Oklahoma City Bombing
History of Major Bombing’s in Utah
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•
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Uni-Bomber 1984
Hoffman 1986
Singer Swap 1987
Alta View Hospital 1991
Fur Breeders Co-op 1997
Numerous bank robberies 2003 / 2004
Why are Businesses Targets
for Explosive Threats?
In the Mind of the Bomber
• Businesses represent:
– Symbols of power
– The Ideological dragon
– Impersonal target
• Motives:
– Economic revenge
– Empowerment
– Crusading causes
Theodore John Kaczynski
(Uni-Bomber)
Eric Robert Rudolph
Richard Reid
Shoe Bomber
Explosive Incidents
• How do we successfully deal with an
explosive incidents in the work place?
– Planning
– Team Work
– Evaluation
– Action
– Review
Planning
• Why plan for something that doesn’t happen
around here?
– According to the 2003 FBI and ATF figures Utah is 5th
in the nation for explosive incidents.
• Pre planning is the key to:
–
–
–
–
Prevention
Safety
Minimizing impact
Restoring order quickly and efficiently
Team Work
• Assignments
– Employees assignments should be straight
forward and according to our plan.
• Work as a team in:
– Planning
– Evaluation
– Action
– Review
Evaluation
• All threats and incidents should be
evaluated prior to:
– Searches
– Evacuations
• Most bombers are planning on a blind
evacuation
– It is easier to bring the people to the bomb
than the bomb to the people
Action
• All actions taken should be according to
our plan
• All actions should be done in a team
• All planned actions should be tested and
evaluated
Review
• All good plans should be tested and
reviewed
– All Plans look good on paper
– Only through the testing and review of our
plans will they become viable, workable and
successful plans
Bomb Squads in Utah
Who and Where are the
bomb Squads?
Utah Bomb Squads
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Davis County Sheriff’s Office
Utah State University
Salt Lake County Fire Department
Salt Lake City Police
West Valley City Police / Fire Departments
Provo City Police Department
Utah County Sheriff’s Office
St. George Police Department
Locations of Bomb Squads
Utah State Univ.
Davis County SO
Salt Lake City PD
West Valley PD/FD
Salt Lake Co Fire
Provo PD
Utah County SO
St. George PD
Certifications
• Bomb Squads
– Certified and Accreditation by FBI and
NBSCAB (national bomb squad commanders advisory board)
• Bomb Technicians
– Certified by the FBI and US Army at Red
Stone arsenal Huntsville, Alabama
– Re-Certification every three years
– GOAL to get all Bomb Tech’s certified as HazMat Specialist
Bomb Squad Response Capabilities
• Bomb Threats
– Advise, planning information
• Unattended Packages
– Advise, planning information
• Suspicious Packages
– Advise, Render Safe, Transport, Investigation
• Confirmed IED
– Advise, Render Safe, Transport, Investigation
Bomb Squad Response Capabilities
(continued)
• Post Blast
– Advise, Evidence Collection and Investigation
• VBIED & WMD
– Advise, Render Safe, Transport, Evidence
Collection and Investigation
• Explosive Pickups
– Advise, Removal, Render Safe, Transport,
disposal
Standardized Bomb Squad
Equipment
• Bomb suits
• SRS-5 Haz-Mat (WMD) Bomb Suits & chemical
PPE
• Portable X-Ray’s
• Real Time Computer X-Ray’s
• Robot
• Disrupters (PAN & Explosive Countermeasures)
• Explosive Containment Trailer
• Response Vehicles with EOD tools
Utah Bomb Squads
Response Plan
The state has been divided into 5
Regions by the Bomb Squads for
response.
Regional Response Areas
Region 1
Region 3
Region 2
Region 5
Region 4
Response Regions
• Region 1 (Primary response area)
– Box Elder, Cache, Rich, Weber, Morgan and
Davis Counties.
• Region 2 (Primary response area)
– Tooele, Salt Lake and Summit Counties
Response Regions
• Region 3 (Primary response area)
– Juab, Utah, Wasatch, Sanpete and Carbon
Counties
• Region 4 (Primary response area)
– Beaver, Piute, Iron, Garfield, Kane and
Washington Counties
• Region 5 (Rotational response area)
– Duchesne, Uintah, Grand, Emery, Wayne,
Millard, Sevier and San Juan Counties
Rotational Response Area
Counties in the Rotational
Response Area Region 5
Bomb Squad
Activation by Region
Response Activation
• Jurisdictional Response Area:
– The activation and dispatch for the
Jurisdictional response area will be made
through each Bomb Squads home agency
and dispatch center.
Response Activation
• Primary Response Area:
– The activation and dispatch for the Primary
Response areas will through the following:
• Region 1
– Davis County Sheriff’s Office (801-451-4150)
• (Davis, Weber and Morgan counties)
– Utah State University Police (435-797-1939)
• (Cache, Box Elder and Rich counties)
• Region 2
– Salt Lake County Emergency Operations Center
(801-743-7100)
Response Activation
• Primary Response Area (continued):
– The activation and dispatch for the Primary
Response areas will through the following:
• Region 3
– Utah County Sheriff’s Office (801-851-4100)
• Region 4
– St. George Police Department (435-643-5000)
Response Activation
• Region 5 (Rotational Response area)
– The activation and dispatch for the Rotational
Response areas will through the following:
• Salt Lake County Emergency Operations Center
(801-743-7100)
– Each bomb squad that will be responding in the
rotational area will be on call for a one month period of
time.
Bomb Squads by Region
Region
2
response area
Region
1 Primary
Primary
Region 3
Primary response
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ProvoState
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Utah County
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West Valley City Bomb Squad
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St. County
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Response Times
• Jurisdictional Response
– The response time will be 1 hour plus
notification
• Primary Response
– The response time will be 2 hours plus
notification
Response Times
• Rotation Response Region
– The response in the Rotational Response
region will fall in one of two categories:
• Land - (Standard) The response by land to the
Rotational Response region will be 5 hours plus
notification
• Air - (Life Threatening) The response by air to the
Rotational Response Region will be 2 hours plus
notification
Types of Explosive
Incidents
Incident Classification
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Bomb Threats
Unattended Packages
Suspicious Package or Item
Confirmed Explosive Device
Post Blast
Bomb Threats
• Definition - any threat received by any employee or
person that an Explosive Device has been or may be left
in or around your property.
•
•
•
•
Bomb Threat Check List
Evaluation
Search
Call for advice from bomb squad if needed
Unattended Packages
• Definition - any package which is left in the common
areas of the building or grounds which is not suspicious
other than the fact that the package has been left
behind.
•
•
•
•
Attempt to Locate owner
Evaluate
Reclassify if necessary
Call for advice from bomb squad if needed
Suspicious Package
• Definition - any package for which the owner can not
be located and it or the circumstances around it are
suspicious in nature (IE: visible wires, oil stains, pipes,
timers, left in a suspicious way, etc.).
• Do not touch
• Isolate and evacuate the area
• Treat the same as a confirmed explosive
device
• Call for assistance from the Bomb Squad
Confirmed Explosive Device
• Definition - Anything which is or appears to be an
explosive device; pipe bombs, improvised explosives,
etc.
• Do Not touch!!
• Isolate and evacuate the area
• Call for assistance from the Bomb Squad
Discovery and/or Responding
to Explosive Incidents
Incident Assessment
• Gather information en-route to the call
– What is it?
• Suspicious Package / Vehicle / Device
• Pre or Post blast incident
• On scene procedure
– DO NOT TOUCH
– Gather information
– Secure the scene
– Evacuation
Special Considerations
• Do Not use radios or cellular phones
within the evacuation area.
• Cellular phones and pagers often emit
finder signals to maintain contact with their
system.
– Even though you are not calling or talking on
your cellular phone it is emitting RF energy.
– Cellular phones and radios may activate
remote control devices.
Establish Unified Incident
Command
• Resources needed for EOD calls
– Incident Commander
• Initial Officer on scene until relieved
– Additional Patrol Officers for scene security
– EOD / RSP team (bomb Squad)
– Fire / Paramedics
– Ground Ambulance
Types of Explosive
Incidents
Incident Classification
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•
Bomb Threats
Unattended Packages
Suspicious Package or Item
Confirmed Explosive Device
Post Blast
Size Does Not Matter
• Never underestimate
the power of an
explosive device by
it’s size.
• Even small explosive
devices can cause
death or serious
injury.
• This injury was
caused by a dry ice
bomb.
Effects of a Dry Ice Bomb
Pipe Bombs
• Never underestimate the lethality of a pipe
bomb
• Large fragments of the pipe are projected
out at between 2000 to 12,000 fps
depending on the explosive used
Evacuation Considerations
• Evacuation must be above and below as
well as around the device.
• Size and location of the suspect device
• Shelter in place -v- Evacuation
– Are we putting people at greater risk by
making them evacuate?
• 75% of all explosive devices at schools are left by
exits.
Evacuation Distances
• Evaluate the area quickly prior to an
evacuation
– Is the device inside?
– Is the device outside and the people inside?
– What is the size of the device?
• Remember:
– Time
– Distance
– Shielding
Evacuation Distances
Threat
Explosive
Capacity
Building
Evacuation
Outdoor
Evacuation
Pipe Bomb
1 to 5 lbs
70 feet
850 feet
Brief Case
10 to 50 lbs
150 Feet
1,200 feet
Small vehicle
500 lbs
320 feet
1,500 feet
Full Size
Vehicle
1,000 lbs
400 feet
1,750 feet
Passenger
Van
4,000 lbs
650 feet
2,750 feet
Small Moving
Van
10,000 lbs
860 feet
3,750 feet
Semi-Trailer
60,000 lbs
1,600 feet
7,000 feet
Secondary Devices
• A search for secondary or multiple devices
is essential in the safety of the responders
– Search the evacuation area
– Search the staging area
– Search the Command post areas
– Search prior to staging or setting up
equipment
Who are the targets of
Secondary Devices?
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The first responders
Bomb Technicians
Medical and Fire personnel
Police Officers
Bystanders
Media
Secondary Device Motives
• With some groups the intended target is
not the business or location.
– Their grievance is with the government and/or
those responding to the scene to help.
– If a terrorist group is able to take out a group
of responders it does more to cripple those
agencies responding.
Atlanta Secondary Device
Initial
Explosion site
Command
Post
Location of
secondary
device
Blast Seat
Danger signs
• The following are danger signs of possible
secondary or multiple devices.
– Bomb threats called into this location prior.
– Type of location:
• Family Planning
• Furs, Meat packing, Etc.
• Location in conflict with local group
Traffic control
• In isolating an incident and setting up the
proper perimeter at a scene will require
additional resources.
– Pedestrians / Side walks / Hallways /
Elevators / Rooms
– Vehicles / Roads / Parking lots / etc.
Post Blast
– Always check for secondary devices
– Do not assume that the scene is safe just
because one device has gone off.
– Scene must be cleared by EOD prior to
evidence collection
– Explosive evidence collection will require
specialists with explosive knowledge and
equipment
Types of Evidence Post Blast
– Victims may carry evidence of the device from
the scene to the hospitals
– Many pieces of the devices hardware will
survive the blast.
– Explosive residue will be present.
– Packaging of the device will present.
– Explosive evidence is like piecing a puzzle
together.
Traffic control
• In isolating an incident and setting up the
proper perimeter at a scene will require
additional resources.
– Pedestrians / Side walks / Hallways /
Elevators / Rooms
– Vehicles / Roads / Parking lots / etc.
Post Blast
– Always check for secondary devices
– Do not assume that the scene is safe just
because one device has gone off.
– Scene must be cleared by EOD prior to
evidence collection
– Explosive evidence collection will require
specialists with explosive knowledge and
equipment
Types of Evidence Post Blast
– Victims may carry evidence of the device from
the scene to the hospitals
– Many pieces of the devices hardware will
survive the blast.
– Explosive residue will be present.
– Packaging of the device will present.
– Explosive evidence is like piecing a puzzle
together.
Contact Information
• IABTI
– Sgt. Harold Curtis
• 801-851-4138
• ucso.skipc@state.ut.us