5.3 Fire Safety, Extinguishers & Bomb Threats

Fire prevention on patrol

Fire response starts before smoke appears. During patrol, look for blocked exits, wedged fire doors, damaged exit lighting, overloaded electrical connections, unsafe storage, heat near equipment, combustibles beside ignition sources, missing extinguisher seals, obstructed sprinklers or fire-department connections, and smoking-rule violations. Report deficiencies through the site's life-safety process; do not disable alarms or make unauthorized electrical or fire-system repairs.

Know the alarm method and evacuation role. When fire or smoke is discovered, use the site's alarm, call 911 or the fire department, state the exact location and conditions, and begin assigned life-safety actions. Close doors behind you when safe to limit smoke and fire spread, but never lock an evacuation path. Smoke can overcome people quickly; crawl low only as current training and escape needs require, and never enter an atmosphere beyond training or protection.

Portable extinguishers

An extinguisher is for a small, early-stage fire—not a substitute for notification and evacuation. Attempt use only when all of these are true:

• the alarm has been activated and the fire department is being called;
• people are evacuating;
• the fire is small, contained, and not producing conditions that block escape;
• the extinguisher class is appropriate;
• the guard is trained; and
• a clear exit remains behind the guard.

Use the familiar PASS method when trained: Pull the pin, Aim at the base, Squeeze the handle, and Sweep side to side. If one extinguisher does not control the fire promptly, smoke worsens, heat becomes dangerous, or the escape route is threatened, leave, close the door if safe, and report conditions. Never turn your back on a fire while retreating.

Common classes include A for ordinary combustibles, B for flammable liquids, C for energized electrical equipment, D for combustible metals, and K for commercial cooking oils and fats. Read the label. Water on energized electrical equipment or burning cooking oil can intensify danger.

Receiving a bomb threat

The current CISA bomb-threat checklist emphasizes calm, exact collection, and prompt notification. If the threat arrives by phone, keep the caller talking when possible. Note the displayed number, time, exact words, voice, background sounds, and answers to questions about location, appearance, timing, and reason. Signal a coworker to notify the designated authority if that can be done without alerting the caller. Do not improvise promises or provoke the caller. After the call, do not erase notes or rely on memory; complete the approved checklist and contact 911 and facility leadership under the plan.

For written, electronic, or social-media threats, preserve the original message, envelope, headers, account, screenshots under policy, and chain of custody. Minimize handling of physical evidence. Do not forward a threat broadly or begin an unauthorized public announcement. Police and the site's responsible official assess evacuation or other protective action.

Suspicious items

A suspicious item may be unusual for its location or show wires, components, stains, odors, excessive tape, threatening markings, or other anomalies. Appearance alone cannot determine whether it is explosive. The controlled response is:

1. Do not touch, open, cover, shake, or move it.
2. Move people away by a route that does not pass the item.
3. From a safe location, make notifications and describe the item and exact location.
4. Avoid using radios or mobile phones near the item.
5. Control access without standing beside the object.
6. Provide observations to bomb technicians and follow their directions.

Do not search by picking up objects. During a directed search, people familiar with the area may identify what is out of place, while trained public-safety personnel evaluate suspicious findings.

Documentation and control

For fire, record alarms, calls, smoke or flame location, evacuation actions, extinguisher type and use, changing conditions, injuries, and transfer to firefighters. For threats, preserve exact language, time, medium, caller cues, item description, notifications, movements, and instructions received. Never announce that a device is safe; only the responsible authority can clear it.

The unifying rule is alarm early, preserve distance and escape, transmit exact information, and let specialized responders handle specialized hazards.

Fire-system boundaries

A guard may acknowledge or silence a panel only when trained, assigned, and permitted by the plan; silencing an audible signal is not an all-clear and does not erase the initiating condition. Never reset a system to hide an alarm or permit occupancy before the responsible fire authority or authorized facility official clears it. Provide the panel location, zone, detector, sprinkler flow, impairment, and actions to firefighters, then document any system left out of service and the required temporary watch.