Guidance Notes

Bomb Evacuation

And

Copies of Notes Taken From A Handbook Issued By

The Home Office

Bomb Threat Planned

Procedures and Guidance Notes

(a)        Upon being advised of a security alert in the area, security shall advise occupants via the public address (PA) system of the alert. The announcement will include reliable information they are in possession of at the time (it must be appreciated that often there is no other information beyond the threat itself)

(b)        A decision whether to evacuate the building will be taken by management or the emergency services at the time. If the bomb is located outside the building, uncoordinated evacuation may lead         evacuees into potential blast areas.

(c)        Regular update announcements will be broadcast via the PA system; the updates may only confirm that the situation remains unchanged but this is intended to dissipate anxiety and frustration during prolonged threats.

(d)        Decision regarding evacuation, etc., remain with management or emergency services (security for out of hours).

(e)        Occupiers must nominate Emergency Liaison Officers (ELOs) to receive additional training in overseeing such incidents and any coverage must incorporate out-of-office hours. The “ELOs” should be responsible, trustworthy, members of your staff who will be instantly obeyed by senior members.

(f)        Occupiers should also ensure their arrangements take into account non-employees e.g. visitor’s contractors, temporary staff, etc.

(g)        Although glazing throughout the building is toughened; everyone should be advised to move away from windows and glass.

(h)        Once an evacuation has been completed the ‘ELOs’ should put in place measures to assemble their employees and check that everyone is accounted for. The building manager will decide re-occupation of the building after thorough inspections have been undertaken. If a suspect object has been found the police will attend immediately and assume control until the object is declared safe.

(i)         The ‘ELOs’ for each company are to assess their specific bomb risk and take appropriate control measures. All ‘ELOs’ must receive appropriate bomb risk training to include basic precautionary measures, evacuation, suspicious packages/items and handling telephoned bomb threats.

Do’s and Don’ts

Do provide ‘safe’ areas for staff away from windows

Do listen carefully to instructions/ information provided by the Public Address System

Do take all valuables i.e. bags, briefcases, coats etc.

Do not stand by windows

Do not use lifts.

Do not collect vehicles from the car parks

Do not ring security control for updates, as information will be passed as soon as available

Do not instruct or allow staff to evacuate or leave the building until a safe route has been established.

General Advice

Do make a contingency plan for disaster recovery and ensure at least one copy is kept off site.

Please note that the following is an extract from Home Office documents and should be use for guidance on general principles only.  Specific building procedures are in place.

If a suspicious vehicle or object is found in the vicinity of your premises, or if you should receive a telephone warning of a terrorist attack it will be necessary to decide whether to evacuate the premises.

The purpose of evacuation is to move people from an area where they might be at risk to a place of safety.  This may be achieved by:

v Internal movement to a Bomb Shelter Area (A safe area within the building)

v Partial evacuation (where large premises are involved and only a suspect letter bomb or small device is found).

v Full evacuation.

In all cases where a bomb threat is received, the ELOs should immediately inform the police and advise them of what action is being taken.

Making the Decision Whether To Evacuate

The decision to evacuate must normally be taken by the Building Manager but the

Police will be ready to advise on request.

In exceptional circumstances, where for example police have received specific information, they may themselves order an evacuation, if necessary overruling the decision of the Building Manager.  But they will always seek the Building Managers help.

On the other hand, it may be necessary for the police in some circumstances to insist that the premises are not evacuated.  They might, for example, have reason to believe that there may be an explosive devise outside the building and evacuation would place people at greater risk.

There are four actions open to the Building Manager.  Which one is chosen depends upon his/her assessment of the threat, which the situation presents.  The choices are:

v To do nothing; or

v To search, and then evacuate if a suspicious object is found; or

v To evacuate all except search teams and essential staff, then to carry out a search and evacuate fully if a suspicious object is discovered; or

v To evacuate immediately without searching.

Option 1: Do Nothing

This option may appear attractive if the threat appears to come from a drunk or a child, but it should not be adopted unless the Building Manager is absolutely sure that it is a malicious call or prank.  If there is the slightest doubt, the Building Manager must turn to one of the other options.

Option 2: Search and Then Evacuate If Necessary

This choice means, of course, that people will be in the building for a longer period if there is a bomb present.  However, if a bomb is found, they can then be evacuated away from danger.  If nothing is found and there are no other significant factors, the Co-ordinator may then decide to declare the buildings safe.  The Co-ordinator may consider this option appropriate if assessing the threat level as low.

Option 3: Search and Partial Evacuation

When the threat level is considered to be moderate, but there is no reason to believe an explosion may be imminent; or if the suspect device is small (e.g. a letter bomb) and parts of the premises may be some considerable distance from the device, the Co-ordinator might consider evacuating part of the premises alone, or retaining only essential staff and search teams on the premises.

Option 4: Evacuate Immediately

If a call is received which the Co-ordinator considers to indicate the existence of a high risk, there will be a case for evacuating as quickly as possible without conducting a search, especially where there is a possibility of an imminent explosion.

When the time of explosion has been disclosed in a threat call, then the Co-ordinator must ensure that any searches are finished and staff cleared at least 20 minutes before the deadline, irrespective of whether any device has been found or not.

Evacuation Plans

As in the case of search plans the Co-ordinator should have up-to-date drawings of evacuation routes.  This is especially necessary when there are a number of exits from the building.  The purpose is twofold:

v To evacuate as quickly and efficiently as possible using all available exits.  A public address system can help in directing staff to particular exits.  When no other form of communication is available a fire alarm can be used providing that it can be sounded in a way that distinguishes it from a fire warning; that staff have been trained to recognise the signal and that the fire alarm is not part of an automatic system connected to the Fire Brigade.

v To provide alternative routes for evacuation so that people can leave the building without being placed in danger by passing close to the suspect device.  For example, if you have four evacuation routes but one of the routes runs closer to a suspect bomb than the others, the Co-ordinator can then decide at once to evacuate using the other routes only.

In drawing up evacuation plans you should consult neighbouring premises, the police and the emergency services.

When the public are present, as in shops and cinemas for example, the Co-ordinator should consider using members of staff as “evacuation marshals” to ensure that the public can leave quickly and without panic, by the pre-selected routes.  Evacuation marshals need to be selected in advance and trained in their role.

The evacuation plan should also show two designated assembly areas in opposite directions where people should congregate after evacuation.  Sometimes, Fire Assembly Points can be utilised for this purpose, but only if they are located at a distance of at least 400 metres from the building.

Ideally, all employees and members of the public should be asked to take personal belongings with them, since this will help to avoid unnecessary suspicion over articles of property left behind after evacuation.  However, this is contrary to standing instructions for fire evacuation, and will be difficult to implement unless a public address system or other suitable means of communication is readily available.

Staff who have been evacuated may have to remain outside for a long time before the building is declared safe, so it is best if shelter can be provided under cover.  You might, perhaps, consider whether it is possible to seek accommodation by arrangement in alternative premises.  This provides the opportunity to shelter from weather, maintain good communication and cater for individual needs.

Car parks should not be designated as assembly areas.

Evacuation assembly areas should be included in the search plans checked whenever search procedures are initialled or an immediate evacuation is ordered.

When an evacuation is initiated, doors and windows should, whenever possible, be left unlocked, especially in the vicinity of a suspect object.  Lights should be left on, but plant and machinery shut down where practicable.

A method must be devised to check that everyone has left the building after the evacuation, and that all personnel, staff and visitors are accounted for.  They should be instructed not to re-enter until the building is declared safe.  (Your existing fire drill procedures will probably assist you).

The Decision to Re-occupy

Once an evacuation has been completed, the Co-ordinator will at some stage have to decide when the building can be re-occupied.  Of course, where a suspect object has been found, the police (if not already present) will attend immediately and assume control until the object is declared safe.  Thereafter, control will revert to the Co-ordinator.

The Co-ordinator should remember that there may be another suspicious object somewhere in the building – undiscovered because the search was terminated and the building evacuated due to the discovery of the first suspect object.  The Co-ordinator should, therefore, have the rest of the building searched before considering re-occupation.

It also follows that, where the evacuation was carried out before any search, the Co-ordinator will have to initiate a search before considering the question of re-occupation.

Where the time has been given for an explosion, but no explosion occurs, the Co-ordinator must ensure that at least one hour is allowed to lapse after that time before search procedures are initiated or re-occupied.

Where police have ordered the initial evacuation, they will remain in control and declare the building safe for re-occupation.

Staff Training

Good training is essential so that in the event of a need to search and evacuate, not only the search teams but also every employee will know what to do.  Regular search and evacuation drills help maintain staff awareness and vigilance.  Telephonists, secretaries, and any other persons likely to answer a telephone should be instructed how to handle a bomb threat call (refer to the checklist for telephonists at APPENDIX E).

Remember other key staff, such as evacuation marshals, need to know their role and be regularly trained.  It is important that all staff recognise those who have been specially nominated and are instructed to obey their instructions.  Put in place procedures to ensure that staff are replaced when they leave or are temporarily absent, so that there are no lapses of cover.

Bomb Shelter Areas

In some offices and buildings it may sometimes be safer to evacuate to a pre-selected area within the building rather than onto the street, particularly where this would mean passing through an area close to the suspect devise or in circumstances where the location of the suspect device is not known.

You should consider whether this option offers advantages in the light of your own circumstances.  It might not always be appropriate as a means of evacuating members of the public from shops or other public areas, for example, where numbers might exceed the capacity of the available accommodation.

Selection of Bomb Shelter Areas

You should seek the advice of a qualified structural engineer with experience in the effect of explosions as to whether the building contains an area which is suitable for use as a Bomb Shelter Area and, if so, that it can safely accommodate to total number of people who might be evacuated to it.

The Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Structural Engineers hold a list of qualified advisers.

The local Fire Safety Officer should also be asked to advise whether the proposed Bomb Shelter Area meets the fire precautions and evacuation requirements of any fire certificate.

For “modern-framed” structures and for “heavy masonry and framed” structures predominantly constructed at the turn of the century, the following points may aid in identifying suitable bomb shelter areas:

v They should be situated away from windows, external doors and external walls.

v They should be away from the perimeter structural bay.  This is the floor zone (on all floors of the structure) between the building’s perimeter and the first line of supporting columns.

v Generally they should not be in a stairwell or have access to a lift-shaft.

v They should be in areas surrounded by full height masonry or concrete walls; e.g. internal corridors, internal toilet areas etc.

Evacuation to a Bomb Shelter Area

Evacuation to a Bomb Shelter Area, where one exists, is normally the immediate response to a threat.  It may be necessary to direct people to take further action subsequently; for example:

v To remain where they are.

v To move to another safe area (if directed by police following discovery of the location of a device).

v To evacuate the building (this will normally be done in liaison with the police).

v All clear

It is therefore important to have communications links to transmit such messages.  This may be achieved by a Public Address System (remember this will require stand-by power should an explosion cut off the main electricity supply), hand held radio transmitter/receivers or other stand-alone audio communication link.

Evacuation Packs

It is good practice to locate evacuation packs close to exit routes, to be collected by nominated personnel if an evacuation is ordered.  The packs should contain items that will assist with the administration of the evacuation and also items which might ease the hardship of a long wait in the assembly area.

Some suggested items for inclusion are as follows:

v First aid kit

v Emergency reporting procedures

v Mobile telephone

v Management/search team contact telephone numbers

v Phone cards

v Float for pay phones/hot drinks machines

v Staff emergency contact list

v Floor plans of building

v Co-ordinators check list and chinagragh pencils

v Keys to secondary evacuation point (if applicable)

v Plastic rain macs

v List of emergency repairers e.g. glaziers

v Taxi telephone numbers, public transport maps.

v Emergency procedures for gas leaks and power failures

A mobile phone should be kept charged and regularly tested for incoming and outgoing calls.  Those people who may be required to use it should be properly trained.