Panel Sees Need For Training In Bomb Scares

The city needs to be prepared in the event of a bomb scare - actual or prank, members of a city council public safety committee agreed Monday.

Councilman Ray Miller had asked the committee to discuss the fire department’s involvement in bomb inspections, because “since we have no one trained in this area, I don’t think we should get involved in the actual inspecting for explosives,” he wrote in a memo.

“I’d like to see more, not less, involvement,” said councilwoman Sue Haynes during the committee’s meeting Monday.

Firefighters don’t inspect for explosives, Fire Capt. Mick Adams explained to the committee. Instead, they respond, establish an evacuation zone and remain on scene in the event the bomb explodes.

When firefighters responded to a bomb threat at Sandpoint High School last fall, they did not give clearance for students and faculty to re-enter the building. Neither did the police.

“They didn’t have an actual bomb dog go through that school,” Adams explained. Instead, it was the school administration that decided to resume classes.

To bring in a bomb squad would have required a call to Spokane or Fairchild Air Force Base.

Committee chairman Paul Graves said the city needs to decide what level of preparedness it needs to attain for terrorist situations.

“One factor we need to look at is the presence of supremacist and militia groups in our area,” he said.

Responding to bomb threats is “a logical role for our fire department and police to be taking,” Haynes said. “And our employees should be properly trained.”

Adams cautioned that explosives training is expensive and extensive, and the city would have to train at least two people - not just one. And given the fire department’s small staff, he added, they risk burnout by over-training them.

The committee agreed they needed to revisit the issue and consider what training should have priority in the fire department.