Initial response to a range of physical threats in an office environment

The paper proposes that there are a number of low-probability, but not insignificant, physical threat scenarios relating to the office environment that warrant an initial response capability (in addition to fire evacuation drill). Explosive, contamination and intruder scenarios are included in the threats’ scope. The term ‘initial response’ essentially refers to first actions relating to how and where to direct people to preserve life safety. Given the likelihood that an organisation would not have any emergency services support in the early stages of an incident, it follows that it is likely that the organisation would be ‘on its own’ to assess, decide and execute the initial response. Aside from any moral obligations, the paper proposes that there are potential legal obligations to compel an organisation to be so prepared. An important consideration explored is the feasibility of having an effective initial response capability. The relative simplicity and low cost of implementation and maintenance of a response is described. Lastly, the point is made that, aside from fire evacuation (which is a drill), all the other threat scenarios discussed require some decision making. It is not possible to be 100 per cent correct 100 per cent of the time. A decision support matrix is described with the objective of increasing the percentage chance of making the most appropriate decision most of the time. In particular, this is seen as an area for further discussion.