News
- Webster, New York (2012) - A lone gunman ambushed firefighters as they responded to a house fire. The gunman was a 62YOM who set fire to the house and vehicle to lure in firefighters, and then opened fire on them from across the street. Two firefighters were killed and two others injured.
- Tallahassee, Florida (2014) - Police and Fire responded to a report of a structure fire which was intentionally set by the gunman. Police arrived first on scene where an officer was ambushed and killed immediately. The gunman then took the officer’s service weapon and began shooting at the responding fire department units. One police officer was killed and one officer was shot and wounded.
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2015) - A firefighter was grazed with a bullet to his head, and the ambulance shot multiple times as crews tended to a medical emergency. The firefighter was transported to a local hospital where he was later released.
- Baltimore, Maryland (2015) - A firefighter was shot in the hand by a male suspect outside of a cell phone store. The suspect reportedly had an argument inside the store and when he left, shot at the on duty firefighter as well as a civilian nearby. Both suffered non life threatening injuries.
- New York, New York(2015) - As a warrant was being served, a suspect barricaded himself in his home and set off a smoke bomb. Police officers called for the fire department unaware it was only smoke. The FDNY lieutenant entered the apartment and was shot twice by the suspect.
Best Practices
- Fire and rescue members should never travel alone, regardless of the situation. Utilize a buddy system at all times in uniform.
- Ensure radios are within reach. Members often store the radio in their back pocket with no lapel mic, making it difficult to access in a time of need. Members should consider attaching lapel mic to radio to be able to communicate quickly.
- Members are reminded that the fire department must now consider ourselves as potential targets and act accordingly. We are not only targets of international terrorism, but also from homegrown violent extremists.
Download the PDF >
The suspect then traveled 7 miles down the road to a nearby US Navy / Marine Reserve Center, opening fire and killing 5 service members before being shot and killed by responding law enforcement.
This is not the first time a military recruitment station has been targeted within the US. In 2009 a service member was killed in Little Rock, Arkansas at a recruitment station and in 2012 Yonathan Melaku shot at sev-eral military installations across the region including the Pentagon .
The shooter had two long guns in his possession as well as a handgun, the multiple weapons indicates the shooter was prepared for a gunfight with his targets and first responders.
Summary
- As indicated in prior bulletins the military recently raised their security level to FPCON Bravo, indicating an in-creased probability for terrorist attacks.
- Military recruitment stations are a soft target for a shooter to attack military personnel. The service members are often unarmed, and there is no security between the recruiter and the outside world.
- Practice and become familiar with TECC equipment and concepts prior to attacks, you will fall back on your training during a time of crisis.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Norm McSwain. He was a pioneer in the field of EMS and prehospital medicine. His legacy will not be lost.
The Interagency Board has recently released a white paper on the need for all Law Enforcement officers to be trained in TECC. Read it here.
It was nice of the Blackhawks to win the cup while we were in town so we could join in the celebration!! Thanks to all who attended. Meeting notes and updates will be posted soon.
The Federal InterAgency Board's white paper, "Stress-Related Mental Health Issues in Emergency Responders, First Receivers, Disaster Workers, and Their Families" has been added to the resources page on the C-TECC website. We appreciate the work on this topic by the IAB and look forward to collaborating as we try to mitigate the psychological threat to first responders during high threat operations.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in coordination with the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, and Transportation, has released “First Responder Guidance for Improving Survivability in Improvised Explosive Device and/or Active Shooter Incidents.”
The Draft Agenda for the Spring/Summer 2015 Full Committee Meeting has been released. One important update to emphasize: due to facility request, we will not be starting the meeting until 0900 instead of the earlier posted 0830.