Emergency Procedures & Officer Safety
Fire, medical, and evacuation response; officer survival principles; basic first aid; equipment use; and coordination with police, fire, and medical responders.
Fire response — PASS, extinguisher classes, evacuation
Fire is the emergency most likely to happen on your shift, and the basics save lives. The PASS acronym tells you how to use a portable extinguisher: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, Sweep side to side. The base is what matters — the flame is a symptom, the fuel is what burns. Match the extinguisher to the fire class: A for ordinary combustibles (wood, paper, cloth), B for flammable liquids and gases, C for energized electrical equipment, D for combustible metals (rare outside industrial settings), and K for cooking oils and fats in commercial kitchens. Most workplace extinguishers are ABC, a multi-purpose dry chemical. Only fight a fire if it is small (waste-basket size), the room is not filling with smoke, you have a clear escape path behind you, and you have already activated the alarm and called 911. If any of those is no, evacuate. For evacuation, know your post's primary and secondary routes, your assembly point, and how to do a head count or sweep based on your post orders. Hold elevators for firefighters; use stairs. Help mobility-limited occupants to a designated refuge area if needed.
Medical emergencies — 911 first, then care within your training
Sequence matters. Call 911 (or have someone call while you start care), confirm the address, and stay on the line. Check scene safety before touching anyone — you cannot help if you become a second patient. Then move through the basics within your training. CPR for an unresponsive person not breathing normally: chest compressions at 100-120 per minute, depth about 2 inches in adults, allowing full chest recoil. Use an AED as soon as one is available — it talks you through the steps. California's Good Samaritan statute, Civil Code §1714.21, protects users of AEDs from civil liability when acting in good faith. For severe bleeding, the Stop the Bleed protocol applies: direct pressure first, then a tourniquet on a limb if pressure does not control it (high and tight, write the time on it). For suspected stroke, use the FAST screen — Face droop, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Time to call 911 — minutes matter because clot-busting drugs only work in a narrow window. Move within your training, no further. Helpful and within scope keeps you protected; freelancing past your certification is where liability begins.
Active shooter, bomb threats, suspicious packages, earthquakes
The federal Department of Homeland Security model for an active shooter is Run, Hide, Fight, in that order of preference. Run if you have a clear escape route — leave belongings, keep hands visible for arriving officers. Hide if you cannot run: locked room, lights off, phone silenced, barricade with furniture, out of sight from the door. Fight only as a last resort, with anything available, committing fully. When law enforcement arrives, follow their commands exactly — they do not yet know who the shooter is. For bomb threats received by phone, stay on the line as long as you can, write down everything (caller voice, background noise, exact threat language), and notify your supervisor and 911 immediately; many workplaces have a Bomb Threat Checklist near the phone. For a suspicious package, do not touch, do not move, evacuate the immediate area, and call for the bomb squad through 911 — the standard mnemonic is HOT (Hidden, Obviously suspicious, not Typical for the location). For earthquakes, the rule is Drop, Cover, and Hold On — drop to your hands and knees, cover your head and neck and get under sturdy furniture if you can, hold on until the shaking stops. Do not run outside during shaking; falling debris around exits is the leading injury risk. After the quake, expect aftershocks and start a structured walk-through of your post.
Officer safety — distance, cover, communication
Surviving a long career in security is mostly about boring habits done consistently. Distance is your friend: more distance equals more reaction time, and reaction time equals options. Cover is anything that stops bullets (concrete, engine blocks, brick) — concealment only hides you (drywall, bushes). Position yourself with at least concealment in any contact, real cover when something feels wrong. Watch the hands: hands hurt people, not faces. Maintain radio discipline — your traffic should be clear, short, and protocolized so dispatch and your partner know exactly where you are and what you need. Use 10-codes or plain English as your employer requires; do not improvise. Establish lone-worker check-ins on a fixed interval; the schedule must be set so a missed check-in triggers a real response, not a shrug. Always know your two nearest exits and the time it takes to reach them. Carry only equipment you are trained and permitted on — a tool you cannot use under stress is dead weight, and one you carry without authorization is a liability. Tired officers make bad decisions; report fatigue, take your rest, and do not work a fully alert post on three hours of sleep.
Last updated: May 2026