SOP Manual - Cleveland Fire Department

Cleveland Fire Department
Operations Manual
Bomb Threats
Communications Center Responsibility
A. The person receiving the call notifying the department of the receipt of a bomb threat will gather
as much information about the threat as possible including:
1. Whether the recipient believes the threat is a hoax or is real.
2. The threatened time of detonation.
3. The exact or approximate location of device.
4. A description of the device.
5. The construction of the device.
6. What will cause the device to explode
7. The reason for the placement of the device at a particular location.
8. The past history of any other threats or actual devices found at the facility.
B. Via telephone and not over the radio, the Communications Center will dispatch a Cleveland Police
Department patrol unit, a patrol supervisor, and a Cleveland Fire Department Commander/Shift
OIC and Engine Company. The Communications Center will advise the assigned units of all
information that could be gathered concerning the threat.
C. The Cleveland Fire Department Commander and Engine Company shall carry out the following
duties:
1. Stage in an area no closer than 1000 feet of the facility.
2. Discontinue radio and cell phone transmissions within 600 feet of the threatened facility.
3. The Commander/OIC will establish a temporary Command Post in conjunction with the
Cleveland Police Department. (It can be inside the facility, a vehicle, or any post with
telephone capabilities.)
4. The Cleveland Police Department will be in charge of the scene. The Cleveland Fire
Departments role will be to standby unless there is a detonation. If there is a detonation
the Fire Department will switch to a rescue/fire suppression mode and summon additional
resources if needed.
Effective: June 1, 1997 Revised: 5/14/2009 Page | 107
Approved by: Chief Chuck Atchley