A ROUTINE CALL BECOMES A CLOSE CALL

A ROUTINE CALL BECOMES A CLOSE CALL

BY LARRY COLLINS

A nagging concern for modern firefighters is the ever-increasing frequency with which they are confronted by explosive devices and other dangerous weapons during incidents that appear to be “routine.” Today`s informed firefighter knows that legitimate concern for the presence of bombs at otherwise benign emergency scenes is no longer limited to places like Beirut, London, and the Middle East. Bombings and bomb threats now constitute a major threat to everyday life in many parts of the United States.

According to the State Department and the Justice Department, bombings are by far the most common type of terrorist attack. In addition, they are being used with greater frequency in personal conflicts at home and at work. In the United States, pipe bombs and other small bombs are the most frequently used explosive devices. In California alone, more than 400 pipe-bomb incidents are reported each year. Since 1990, the incidence of pipe bombings has increased by more than 50 percent.

Pipe bombs and other “simple” devices are of special concern, because people without a great deal of technical expertise can build them, the materials required to produce these bombs are readily available to the public, and even crudely made explosive devices can be used with deadly accuracy. Powerful bombs may be hidden in mailboxes; small packages; and, as we will see, other normal household and recreational items for which the index of suspicion normally is low.

Consequently, firefighters and other public safety personnel across the nation can expect to encounter more bombs, booby traps, and other dangerous weapons for which there may be no “logical” warning signs. Recent examples of this abound. In New York City, for example, firefighters have found booby-trapped apartments during fireground operations. In California, Los Angeles City firefighters encountered a large fuel/ammonium nitrate bomb in the back of a burning truck they had just extinguished, and Bakersfield firefighters narrowly escaped death when a bomb exploded inside a burning passenger van. In Kansas City, firefighters were killed when an intentionally set fire caused the detonation of explosives at a construction site. In short, there is no end to the combination of otherwise “benign” circumstances in which firefighters may be confronted by explosive devices.

A case in point occurred on April 29, 1997, when County of Los Angeles (CA) Fire Department (LACoFD) personnel were dispatched to rescue an unconscious woman from the base of a rocky coastal cliff and found themselves face-to-face with a powerful bomb in disguise.

THE INCIDENT

At 8:35 a.m., the LACoFD Command and Control Facility received a 911 call reporting a woman over the side of a 300-foot coastal cliff near the westernmost point of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It was not immediately clear if the victim was trapped somewhere on the face of the cliff (a common scenario in this section of the coastline) or if she had fallen all the way to the rocky beach below.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula, a prominent landmark in Southern California, is a diamond-shaped mountain that juts out to sea from the Los Angeles coastline, abruptly cutting off the flat and sandy shores of nearby Redondo Beach. The peninsula is outlined by cliffs ranging in height from 150 to 300 feet and has extremely rugged and boulder-strewn beaches that are pounded by treacherous surf, which has been a factor in many harrowing rescues over the years. Companies from the LACoFD and the department`s Lifeguard Division are called to perform many technical rescue operations each year along this stretch of coastline. It is not uncommon for the department to handle a dozen or more technical rescues in a month`s time there–including cliff hangers, boat wrecks, falls from cliffs, SCUBA accidents, and hang-glider accidents.

The terrain on the peninsula frequently necessitates the use of technical rope rescue systems, helicopters, or boats for rescue, so it is standard LACoFD practice to dispatch a “Cliff/Coastal Rescue” assignment to these incidents. The first-alarm Cliff/Coastal assignment for the “woman over the side” on April 29 included Engine 53, Engine 2, Paramedic Squad 2, USAR Truck 106 (a USAR-trained aerial truck company), USAR-1 (the LACoFD`s central USAR company), Air Squad 9 (a Bell 412 fire/rescue helicopter staffed by a pilot and two firefighter/paramedics and equipped with a hoist), Dive 1 (a dive rescue team from the department`s Lifeguard Division), Baywatch Redondo (a Lifeguard Division rescue boat from nearby Redondo Beach Harbor), and Battalion 14.

At the time of the incident, Air Squad 9 and USAR-1 were at the LACoFD Special Operations Division headquarters, a large heliport and office facility housing eight fire/rescue helicopters, the Technical Operations Section, the USAR offices, and the department`s FEMA USAR Task Force. Because USAR-1 and the air squads are often dispatched to the same incidents, it is not uncommon for the crew of USAR-1 to fly on the helicopters to provide timely technical support and backup for the air squad crew during helicopter hoist rescues. As the on-duty captain of USAR-1 on that day, this was the strategy I employed for this incident. It so happened that a local emergency room physician was also flying on Air Squad 9 as part of a program to better acquaint local emergency room personnel with the unique conditions encountered by air-squad paramedics. As we lifted off and headed across the sprawling Los Angeles Basin toward the coast, we listened for the size-up report from Engine 53.

A SEEMINGLY “ROUTINE” RESCUE

On arrival, the captain of Engine 53 established command and radioed his size-up report. He named the incident “Coast Incident” and reported that the crew of Engine 53 would descend the cliff to assess the situation below the cliff. At first it occurred to me that this might be a routine technical rescue operation (relatively speaking)–perhaps a midface cliff rescue, the extraction of a victim from the bottom of the cliff, or one of the other common types of incidents that occur on the peninsula.

On his arrival, Battalion 14 assumed command and assigned the captain of Engine 53 as “Operations.” Captain Gene Horner of Truck 106 was designated as Rescue Group Leader, and Squad 2 was designated as Medical Group. As they climbed down the cliff, Engine 53`s crew spotted what appeared to be a woman lying on the rocks directly above the surf line. After hiking across the rock-strewn beach, they found her unconscious and unresponsive and therefore unable to provide information about the circumstances of her predicament. As they began their medical exam, the firefighters noticed that she was wet and cold and had severe abrasions across her body. She appeared to have been submerged in the water and to have been dashed on the rocks by the waves. This led the crew of Engine 53 to believe that she may have washed up on the beach and that perhaps she was the victim of a capsized boat or some other type of marine accident.

Concerned that there might be additional victims somewhere off the coast, Engine 53`s captain radioed his follow-up report to the coast incident commander and requested that Baywatch and Dive 1 be assigned to begin a search for additional victims. He also requested the coast IC to request that the U.S. Coast Guard respond to assist with the ocean search.

By this time, Pilot Gary Lineberry was flying Air Squad 9 over the ocean, approximately one-quarter mile from the shore, paralleling the beach just north of Venice and below the takeoff pattern of L.A. International Airport. Sitting in the cabin of the copter, we listened to the radio traffic from the on-scene units and discussed (via the copter`s intercom system) various contingencies for rescuing any victims we might come across in the water, as well as how best to extract the first victim from the beach. We decided that if any victims were encountered in the open ocean en route to the incident, we would use the department`s Marine Disaster Helicopter Rescue Swimmer Insertion evolution to deploy two rescue swimmers into the ocean. This is the same operation we use to conduct rescues when a plane is down or a boat has capsized in the open sea. Victims would be hoisted aboard using the copter`s rescue hoist, with one rescue swimmer accompanying each victim.

ON THE GROUND

Back on the ground, the crew of Engine 53, now joined by firefighter/paramedics from Squad 2, performed a head-to-toe primary survey and began treating the 190-pound victim for hypothermia, near-drowning, and injuries. She was wearing jeans, but her top had been partially ripped off. They checked her legs and pelvis for signs of fracture but left her jeans on to protect her from the rocks and to help conserve her body temperature. The firefighters noticed several items scattered in the rocks near her, including a five-gallon plastic cooler and some articles of clothing. Initially there was no indication that these items had any connection to the victim; it appeared that they might have been left by other beach-goers the previous day or might have been washed ashore from some other source. And since there was no outward indication of danger, they proceeded to stabilize the victim as per normal procedures in preparation for a helicopter extraction. One firefighter picked up the cooler and moved it out of the way to clear enough space to place the victim on a backboard. Moments later, Air Squad 9 approached the scene and requested an assignment from the IC. Air Squad 9 and USAR-1 were directed to report to the Rescue Group Leader Horner.

SOMETHING AMISS

Meanwhile, Squad 2`s paramedics were becoming concerned about the victim`s deteriorating condition. Her pulse was extremely weak, and they had difficulty determining a blood pressure. They began large-bore IVs ordered by the base station. The victim remained deeply unconscious and barely responded to painful stimulus. Her condition appeared consistent with that of someone who may have been washed off the rocks and suffered a near-drowning or who had been washed up on the beach after a boating accident. Both are common incidents at this site. Both scenarios seemed equally plausible. The paramedics worked quickly, trying to stabilize the victim before the copter landed.

As the firefighters maneuvered around her, they took the opportunity to take a closer look at the other items scattered around the victim. What they discovered quickly changed the course of the incident. To their surprise, they found a loaded pistol wedged between two rocks and a flare gun lying on a nearby rock. Then one of the firefighters found several opened cans of black powder. They immediately recognized that this might be something altogether different from a simple near-drowning case. With the woman in a state of unconsciousness and no other witnesses, there was no way to determine exactly what led her to be found on the rocks. They could not ascertain whether additional victims or other unknown dangers were present. Within moments, however, they discovered that they had been working in direct proximity to lethal danger since the time of their arrival on the beach.

The rescue group leader directed Air Squad 9 to evaluate the scene to determine whether a hoist operation or a landing on the rocks would be most appropriate for removing the victim from the beach. The pilot, having determined that he could land safely on the rocks, carefully hovered into position and set the copter down on a set of boulders that provided a solid platform for the skids.

“BOMB”

We climbed out onto the rocks with the evacuation stretcher and medical gear. Firefighter/paramedic Fred Findlay and I reached the victim just moments after the other firefighters had found the guns and black powder. USAR-1 Engineer Brian LeFave and Firefighter/paramedic Dana Rickman followed carrying the stretcher. Captain Horner began briefing me on the situation and needs. He was interrupted by Findlay, who tapped my shoulder and pointed at the cooler on a rock at our feet.

I glanced down and saw the focus of his concern: Several wires resembling primer cord or fuses protruded from beneath the lid of the cooler.

I looked at Findlay, and we both mouthed the same word simultaneously: “bomb.” Two feet to my right was the firefighter who moments earlier had moved the cooler away from the victim. The look on his face was that of someone who had narrowly missed being struck by a falling rock.

Findlay strongly suggested that we expedite packaging the victim on a Miller board and move her to a safe location away from the cooler. Horner directed his personnel to work with Findlay to get the woman packaged and moved. Findlay was concerned (with good reason) that one of us might accidentally kick the cooler if we tried to carry the victim anywhere near it, so Horner picked out a route that would lead us away from the cooler.

Naturally we realized that it might not be a bomb. It wasn`t a container we would expect to be used for a bomb. I thought, There might be another reasonable explanation. But determining that issue was the bomb squad`s job. It occurred to me later that an innocent child walking along the beach might have been inclined, out of curiosity, to open the cooler or move it. We never thought of doing anything else but leaving the cooler where it was and denying entry into the area. Obviously, someone had been motivated enough to create something that at least resembled a homemade bomb. Anyone who would go to that trouble might also have the inclination and know-how to build a real one. We agreed that if the cooler was in fact loaded with explosive material and an effective detonating device, it might be a powerful bomb. The first question was: What distance from the cooler would provide sufficient shielding from such a blast? (In reality that question was academic, because we were on a narrow strip of beach, hemmed in by cliffs and the ocean.)

The next questions that arose in my mind were: Who would put a bomb on a beach next to an unconscious woman? What was the connection with the pistol and flare gun? Was our victim the perpetrator (perhaps as part of a suicide attempt)? Was it a drug deal gone bad (with the flare gun used to signal a boat coming into the cove)? Or was the woman the victim of some type of murder plot? Was there a boat with other victims aboard foundering in the ocean? Could someone have blown up a boat on the water, not suspecting that this victim might wash up on the beach? At first, these scenarios began to seem a bit far-fetched. But then I remembered that I was in Los Angeles, where “far-fetched” is a decidedly relative term.

It occurred to us that some sort of shock-sensitive detonator might be planted in the cooler. But if this were the case, why hadn`t the bomb exploded when the firefighter from Squad 2 picked it up? It was possible that the device might be on some type of timer. But what type? And if so, was it set to go off at a particular hour and minute or within a certain interval of time after it had been moved–by an unsuspecting citizen or firefighter, for example?

Then one more problem presented itself: The cooler was perched on a rock that was quite close to the waterline, and the tide was now coming in. The waves were steadily pounding closer and closer on nearby rocks. Findlay was right: It was time to move away from the cooler and get everyone else off the beach.

By this time, two sheriff deputies had climbed down and were watching the scene from the base of the cliff, perplexed by our sudden attention to the cooler and our hasty retreat. When I told them a bomb might be in the cooler, they thought I was kidding. Then they realized I was serious, and they carefully approached the cooler at a safe distance to look for themselves. They came back (a little faster this time), and one of them said, “You`re right. It looks like a bomb.” With that, they radioed their dispatcher to have the L.A. County Sheriff`s bomb squad respond.

Meanwhile, the IC was informed that a bomb may be on the beach. The sheriff deputies hurriedly waved off several civilians in the vicinity and established a wide exclusion zone.

SITUATION CRITICAL FOR VICTIM

The woman was quickly packaged and carried toward the waiting helicopter.

Pilot Lineberry had kept the blades turning in anticipation of a quick turnaround time. As the firefighters struggled to carry her over the boulders, she suddenly vomited copious amounts of sea water. We found a safe place to set her down to ensure a patent airway. The woman was failing, and her rate of respiration quickly decreased. The paramedics, assisted by the physician, scrambled to suction and intubate her.

Efforts to intubate the victim included several attempts by the physician to get a visual on her vocal cords with the laryngoscope while lying on the rocks. Then the oscilloscope went flat, and there were no pulses. The paramedics began CPR, following full arrest protocol as the woman was quickly moved to the copter. Her weight made it difficult to move her across the boulders. At one point, a firefighter slipped on the rocks and went down beneath the stretcher. The others quickly lifted her off his leg and slid the stretcher into Air Squad 9.

As Air Squad 9 flew toward Harbor General Hospital, the closest trauma center, aggressive resuscitation efforts continued unabated. Findlay and Rickman were busy administering IV drugs in an effort to regain the woman`s cardiac rhythm. Within 10 minutes, Lineberry set the Bell 412 down on the helipad, and the patient was transferred to a waiting ambulance for the trip across the parking lot to the emergency room.

As Harbor General`s emergency room team took over treatment, Air Squad 9`s paramedics informed them of the unusual factors at the scene. They emphasized that, because of the sequence of events, they had not yet had a chance to remove her jeans to check for injuries from possible gunshot wounds and the like. The attending physician assured us they would thoroughly check the patient`s back.

Later we learned that emergency room personnel discovered a loaded Derringer pistol–in the cocked position–in the back pocket of the woman`s jeans when they were removed to check for hidden wounds.

As a result of aggressive treatment in the field and in the emergency room, personnel at Harbor General Hospital were able to resuscitate the patient, who was alive and in stable physical condition at the time this was written. The victim was placed under custody and refuses to discuss the details of how she ended up on the beach. Police are tight-lipped about the details of the case. Other information is being withheld by the hospital and the Sheriff`s Department, because the victim may be charged in connection with the presence of the bomb.

BOMB BLAST

The Sheriff`s Department Bomb Squad responded to the scene and conducted a detailed survey of the cooler and the entire scene. They determined that, indeed, the cooler appeared to be some sort of a bomb or an attempt to make the cooler look like a bomb. Late in the afternoon, the cooler was detonated on the beach. The explosion was powerful and would have caused grave injuries or death to firefighters and other bystanders.

INCIDENT CONCLUSIONS

The ocean search conducted by Baywatch and Dive 1 of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department`s Lifeguard Division and the U.S. Coast Guard turned up no additional victims or any vessels. At the time this is being written, it is not known exactly how or why the victim ended up on the beach, and there is no indication that any boats or planes were involved in the situation.

The Sheriff`s Department cannot release all the details because of pending prosecution actions, but personnel familiar with the case were able to give the following information:

–The bomb may have been produced and placed by the victim.

–Cans of black powder were jammed into the cooler with a fuse system that provided detonation capability.

–On detonation, the cooler itself would have acted to contain the initial blast for an instant. This, in turn, would have caused the cooler to rupture into shrapnel, which would have caused grievous injuries to anyone standing nearby.

–The victim was reported to have a military background associated with the use or disposal of explosives.

–The patient survived the ordeal. The hospital will not release additional medical data, as is common in such cases.

–Hospital personnel have reported that the victim made threats “to blow up” a section of the hospital because she was held there against her will during treatment.

–It is not known whether the patient had an association with any terrorist organization.

LESSONS LEARNED

First responders should carefully reevaluate the manner in which they approach seemingly innocent situations that may present the hidden danger of explosive devices or other conditions/substances immediately detrimental to life and health. In this case, there was little forewarning of the danger that was actually on the scene. The first-responding firefighters approached the incident with a reasonable assumption that they were responding to some form of technical rescue. Initially they had no reason to believe that a bomb or weapons might be present.

On discovering that a bomb might be present at an emergency scene, standard precautions should be implemented to mitigate the possibility of a detonation. In this case, the incident had progressed for nearly half an hour before there was any indication that a bomb might be present. Once the bomb was discovered, personnel reacted appropriately and “changed gears” to protect the victim, firefighters, police officers, and the public from the newly identified hazard.

During our critiques of the incident, we agreed that we should have refrained from using fire department radios in the vicinity of the cooler once the wires had been observed protruding from the cooler. Radio silence is standard procedure for bomb threats, to reduce the threat of activating a radio-controlled detonator. However, the need for radio silence simply didn`t occur to us immediately because of the initial confusion about what we were dealing with and because the sequence of events did not follow the “typical” profile of an incident that would lead one to suspect the presence of a bomb.

Once weapons (especially loaded ones) or other suspicious items are discovered at the scene of an emergency like this one, the index of suspicion for other unseen dangers should be immediately raised. In this case, it is fortunate that the cocked gun (in the victim`s back pocket) did not fire during efforts to load, treat, and transport her. There is no telling where the bullet from such a shot might have gone. Moreover, it might have proved catastrophic had it gone off during the helicopter flight to the trauma center.

Helicopter flight and landing in the vicinity of a suspected bomb site should be restricted. The rotorwash (with its attending atmospheric pressure changes and violent wind and turbulence) of a helicopter might be sufficient to set off some bombs. As was proven by the so-called “Twilight Zone helicopter crash” (which killed actor Vic Morrow and two child actors during the filming of the movie Twilight Zone), even minor bomb explosions in the vicinity of a helicopter in flight may cause it to crash with catastrophic results. In this case, the rotorwash from the Bell 412 helicopter might have been sufficient to blow the cooler across the rocks if the Air Squad crew members had not had the presence of mind to keep Air Squad 9 at a distance once the protruding wires had been discovered.

There is a need to reevaluate the general manner in which the fire service approaches incidents involving bomb threats, explosions of unknown origin, cases in which victims are adversely affected by unknown substances, situations where victims are found under suspicious conditions, and other incidents with a high index of suspicion for explosives or other lethal hazards.

It has been said that no emergency is truly “routine.” The saying may be overused in some cases, but this incident was proof that some seemingly “routine” emergencies can quickly turn deadly for firefighters and other public safety personnel who let down their guard. n

(Top) The fuse protruding from beneath the cooler lid was the first indication of danger. (Bottom) Before the fuse was noticed, a firefighter had moved the cooler to provide room for treating the victim. A loaded gun, a flare gun, and black powder later were found in the rocks behind the cooler. (Photos by author.)

After the area had been evacuated, the cooler was perched on the rocks just above the surf line, which was expanding closer to the cooler as a result of the incoming tide.

(Left) Los Angeles County firefighters move victim away from cooler and begin CPR as she goes into full arrest. Air Squad 9 (background) was kept at a safe distance, because the rotorwash could trigger a movement-sensitive detonator and cause an explosion. (Right) A safe distance away from the cooler, firefighters work to establish a patent airway after the victim went into respiratory arrest.

The County of Los Angeles Fire Department Lifeguard Division

The L.A. County Lifeguards, whose exploits are popularized by the television show Baywatch and recent Ford Truck commercials, are actually part of a special division of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department. In 1992, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors moved the lifeguards from the Department of Beaches and Harbors to the fire department. Under the direction of LACoFD Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman, the Lifeguard Division was established to encompass the full range of lifeguard responsibilities, including the seven Baywatch lifeguard boat units (from which the title of the television show was derived), which protect the various major segments of Los Angeles County`s coastline and Catalina Island, located 26 miles off the mainland.

The LACoFD Lifeguard Division is one of the most diverse lifeguard organizations anywhere. So-called “traditional” lifeguard service is provided by members assigned to designated lifeguard towers along the beaches, which are among the most crowded in the world and where rescues occur throughout the year. Other lifeguards and supervisors patrol the beaches in four-wheel-drive trucks. The beach lifeguards rack up hundreds of “saves” every year.

The Baywatch boats are staffed with full-time lifeguards who are specially trained to perform a wide variety of emergency operations. They provide rapid response capabilities along the entire coastline of L.A. County and Catalina Island. Baywatch boats provide critical assistance and backup for beach lifeguards when they are conducting rescues in (or beyond) the surf. The powerful boats are capable of plowing through large waves and plucking victims from dangerous situations. They are also equipped for marine and pier firefighting operations. Every year they see duty when boats and ships catch fire or founder at sea, and they have provided valuable assistance at major pier fires. The Baywatch boats are used for dive rescue operations, ocean searches, and other special duties.

The LACoFD Lifeguard Division provides rapid dive rescue capabilities across the entire county, including inland lakes and streams. The LACoFD`s fire/rescue helicopters are sometimes used to airlift the dive teams to provide timely response to distant

dive rescue and search operations. This can sometimes cut their

response time in half and helps ensure the most timely assistance for the on-scene firefighters, who will generally establish a search grid and may conduct surface dives or other operations until the dive team arrives.

Integration of the lifeguards into the LACoFD has resulted in an effective combination of resources when water emergencies occur. The lifeguards frequently request the LACoFD`s fire/rescue helicopters to assist with ocean searches from the air, or to provide backup support for beach lifeguards and Baywatch boats during rescue operations. Conversely, some specially trained lifeguards are assigned to LACoFD Swiftwater Rescue Teams during storm deployments and flooding emergencies. Generally, at least one Lifeguard Division Swiftwater Rescue Team is assigned to a strategically located fire station in Malibu during major storm conditions. The team responds to all first-alarm swiftwater rescue incidents within a selected geographic area as part of the LACoFD`s overall Swiftwater Rescue Plan, and they work closely with the firefighters during training, planning, and emergency operations.

Lifeguards are also integrated into the Swiftwater Rescue Task Force component of the LACoFD`s OES/FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force. Whenever the OES/FEMA USAR/Swiftwater Rescue Task Force is dispatched, specially-trained lifeguards are assigned to selected positions. They provide dive rescue capabilities during task force flood operations as well as unique expertise in the use of inflatable rescue boats (IRB). When the Swiftwater Rescue Task Force is deployed, as it was twice during the Northern California floods of 1996/97, the contingent includes one Lifeguard Division dive unit and a trailered Lifeguard Division IRB.

LACoFD Lifeguard Division personnel are dispatched to a wide variety of mutual-aid operations. They are frequently dispatched on U.S. Coast Guard helicopters to provide surf and dive rescue capabilities during emergency operations along the coast of California. They are also special-called to assist in unique situations such as offshore aircraft crashes and other marine accidents.

–Larry Collins

LARRY COLLINS is a 17-year member of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department. He is a paramedic and a captain, assigned to USAR-1, the Urban Search and Rescue Unit of the department`s Special Operations Division. A member FEMA`s USAR Incident Support Team at the Oklahoma City Bombing and assistant leader of the LACoFD FEMA USAR Task Force at the Northridge Meadows Apartment collapse in the Northridge Earthquake, Collins is a member of the LACoFD Anti-Terrorism Work Group and serves on several local and national committees.