Recent events have brought many public safety agencies into the realm of civil unrest. Dealing with the subject is something to which many small agencies, including fire departments, have never been exposed. Medium and large municipalities may have some past experience and therefore can fall back on those experiences for current and future incidents.
We will be able to rely on some of the experiences of these larger municipalities by taking advantage of some documents that were created with the help of some very knowledgeable people. What follows below are some resources that Billy Goldfeder has assembled for the benefit all fire departments in his FireFighterCloseCalls.com website. He included a white paper on Fire Service Response to Civil Unrest which was prepared in conjunction with the NFPA Responder Forum 2015 and released to the fire community by the Urban Fire Forum 2016.
He also included several other helpful documents including a sample SOP on the subject.
We can only hope that we will never be faced with this type of incident but in the interest of keeping us safe and in accordance with Workplace Violence Prevention policies, we should all take the time to review more on the subject of Civil Unrest.
Here is a paper written for the EMS.GOV site to help prepare personnel, the station, apparatus, and the community for emergency response in a challenging environment. It is considered best practices for responding to incidents of civil unrest. It contains many good points that could be incorporated into your SOP's or EOP's.
Fire and Emergency Medical Services Response to Civil Unrest
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1500 on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Programs Chapter 8 on Civil Unrest, Acts of Violence, or Terrorism require that the fire department shall develop and maintain written standard operating procedures that establish a standardized approach to the safety of members at incidents that involve violence, unrest, or civil disturbance. This document was created to help fire departments with creating an SOP.
The following document was found on the National Fallen Firefighter site and was created in 2007. Fire departments respond, in various capacities and roles, to incidents caused by violent acts. They also encounter violent persons at what was to be an ordinary incident. In order to ensure that we meet our mission, to make sure everyone goes home, everyday, we offer the following strategies designed to reduce the likelihood of injury or death from responding to incidents of violence.
http://www.firehero.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Initiative12.pdf
Chantilly, Va. 6/1/2020– The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) today issued the following statement from Chief Gary Ludwig, President and Chairman of the Board:
"We are here to help. That is what firefighters, paramedics and EMTs do. Especially in the most difficult of times. That is what we are witnessing across the United States right now, one of the most difficult times for our country and firefighters find themselves helping wherever they can.
"Despite extremely dangerous conditions, the nation's firefighters are on the front lines attending to the injured and extinguishing fires. We do not judge. We act. That is why it is enormously distressing to see our firefighters and EMS personnel attacked by stones, rocks, bricks, fireworks, and in other ways.
"No one's cause is furthered by bringing harm to those who are sworn to protect us. These are the same people who have risked their safety to come to our homes in recent months to treat you or a loved one during the COVID-19 pandemic. The same people who ran toward the towers on 9/11. The same people who will fight through smoke and flames to get to your child trapped in their bedroom.
"Firefighters have only one mission – to save lives and protect property. Please help them complete that mission safely.
"On behalf of the leadership of 1.2 million firefighters in the United States, please understand the safety of our people is paramount. Please allow them to carry out their sworn duty and allow them to serve others before self."
This page contains additional links from the IAFC for resources that could come in handy but only if you look them over before these types of incidents occur.
https://www.iafc.org/blogs/blog/iafc/2020/06/01/chief-ludwig-issues-public-statement
This document was created in 1994 by a joint task force for FEMA and the US Fire Administration which was convened in June of 1992 and included the nation's leading Fire Chiefs and Police Chiefs.
https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-142.pdf
The following document comes to us from the International Fire Service Journal of Leadership And Management. It covers the basis of what should be included in an SOP/EOP including liaison with police departments.
https://www.ifsjlm.org/sites/default/files/SAMPLE SOP CIVIL UNREST - Urban Fire Forum.pdf