Facing the Unexpected Foe
Imagine that you and your family are finally taking the vacation you have always dreamed of; someplace exotic. A year’s worth of frugal saving has paid off and resulted in you, your happy wife and children eagerly settling into the luxurious hotel you “splurgingly” booked, in preparation for an adventurous week of activities.
Like many vacations, the kids want to go to the hotel pool for a quick swim before heading off to bed. You oblige their requests, and willingly take them to the plunge, in the hopes of tiring them out for a good night’s rest. After about an hour of bellyflops, dives, and seeing who can hold their breath under the water the longest, the kids begin to tire, just as you had planned, and you head back to your hotel room for the night.
On you way back to your room, located on the 15th floor, the fire alarm begins sounding. You say to yourself, “You’ve got to be kidding me, we have to go down 15 floors for a false alarm? It’s probably a false alarm, anyways.” But, something about this alarm seems different. As you reach your room, your instincts tell you to look out the window, where you see an odd flickering glow below. “This may be a real fire. We’ve got to get out of here.” You make the decision to corral the wife and kids and make your way down the hall to the stairwell. Opening the room door, you hear the sound of firecrackers down the hall. Thick, black, irritating smoke is emanating from the stairwell which was supposed to be your refuge. You ask, “why would firecrackers be going off in a hotel at this time of night? Is that smoke from the firecrackers?” Then you come to your senses and realize that the smoke is too thick for firecrackers, and the popping sound is actually gunfire. You realize that you and your family are in the middle of a complex coordinated terror attack utilizing both firearms and the intentional fire setting as weapons.
Question:
Do you have the knowledge to escape an unusual two prong attack where fire is intentionally used as a weapon?
Do you have confidence as a first responder in your ability to identify attacks that utilize methods such as fire as a weapon?
The intention of Ignition_Point will be to discuss these high threats- low-frequency events, bringing to the forefront unconventional weapons detrimental to the security of the homeland. Each week Ignition_Point will be delivering a new article discussing one of these threats, and utilizing first-hand accounts and case studies to increase understanding, to aid in identifying and to improve preparedness for invisible threats. Feedback will always be welcome, and is encouraged! If there is something you would like to discuss further, or learn about, please let us know. Our mission is to educate better and prepare first responders and the public on emerging threats to the homeland.
