800.231.9106
Joint Public Safety Response to Fire-as-a-Weapon: The ABCs
The Industry Standard for Fire-as-a-Weapon Response
Fire is one of the oldest weapons known to man. Yet until 2013, no organization in the world systematically trained law enforcement to respond to fire-as-a-weapon incidents. Threat Suppression changed that, becoming the first company to develop comprehensive training for tactical teams operating when fire is introduced during law enforcement operations.
The United States has experienced numerous incidents where fire was used as a weapon during barricaded suspect situations, attacks on responders, warrant services, and civil unrest. Every state in the United States has had notable fire-as-a-weapon attacks, many of which resulted in death to responders and civilians.
Threat Suppression pioneered live-fire training, putting law enforcement officers inside actual burning buildings to teach hostage rescue and tactical operations under fire conditions. This groundbreaking research led to the development of the ABC2s of Fire-as-a-Weapon: Ambush, Barricade, Civil Unrest, and Complex Coordinated Attacks. These four categories define the most likely fire-as-a-weapon events law enforcement will encounter. The ABC2s framework has been adopted by ALERRT, NTOA, the Department of War, Department of Homeland Security, and multiple NATO countries as the standard for training responders on fire-as-a-weapon tactics. Threat Suppression provided substantial instruction and content development for ALERRT's fire-as-a-weapon training program, establishing the foundation for national and international response protocols.
Threat Suppression's Role in Fire-as-a-Weapon Response
Threat Suppression developed the first systematic training on law enforcement response to fire-as-a-weapon events, beginning with pioneering live-fire training in 2013. Threat Suppression continues to provide instruction and content development for national fire-as-a-weapon training programs and has operationalized tactical fire company integration through specialized training that puts responders in actual burning structures. Our work has been featured in articles at Police1, active assailant training courses, active assailant whitepapers, master's degree theses, and doctoral dissertations. We are the only company in the United States that has NFPA 1403 exemptions from multiple state fire marshal's offices, allowing us to put non-firefighter trained law enforcement officers inside burning structures.
Documented Operational Impact
Training participants have directly credited this instruction with saving multiple lives in actual hostile events. The Grand Blanc church attack and Temple Israel attack were resolved using tactics and coordination taught in Threat Suppression courses. SWAT incidents with active fire occurred in Detroit, Myrtle Beach, Los Angeles, Charlotte, and other cities have been successfully resolved by responders who attended this training. These outcomes demonstrate that preparation, planning, and integrated law enforcement-fire coordination save lives when fire becomes a weapon.
What You'll Learn
The ABC2s framework and how each category shapes tactical response. Fire behavior and the four phases of fire. How smoke, fire growth rates, and atmospheric conditions impact survivability and officer safety. Reading smoke to determine fire location, growth rate, and danger to occupants and responders. Basic steps to control fire spread and byproducts to increase survivability. Fire department equipment and techniques officers can utilize during tactical operations. Coordination between breaching teams, ventilation teams, positive pressure fans, and entry teams. Integration of fire suppression support while operating in potentially hostile environments. Contingency planning before fire is introduced to tactical operations.
Our Course Offerings
Joint Public Safety Tactical Response to Fire-as-a-Weapon (Lecture)
Two or four-hour instructor-led classroom presentation. Students develop fundamental understanding of fire behavior, the predictable nature of fire, and how preparation and planning minimize dangers during hostile incidents. This course requires no hands-on training space and is suitable for briefings, in-service training, and awareness sessions for law enforcement, fire, emergency management, and military personnel.
Patrol Officer Introduction to Fire-as-a-Weapon Events (One-Day Practical)
Hands-on training for patrol and first-responding officers. This course has both a lecture and practical training. Instruction covers ladder carries and raising, hose line stretching, master stream placement for exposure protection, and positive pressure ventilation. Officers experience the basics of coordinating with fire department personnel during tactical operations. Prerequisites: basic officer training and room-clearing experience.
Tactical Operator Response to Fire-as-a-Weapon Events (Two-Day Practical)
Comprehensive hands-on training combining lecture and live-burn evolutions. Participants practice coordination between breaching, ventilation, positive pressure fan placement, and entry teams. Live burns demonstrate how to reduce dangers from fire and byproducts while entering structures, extracting hostages and suspects, and enabling fire suppression. This course is designed for tactical teams, SWAT, and officers with building-clearing experience. Advanced participants may serve as cadre during live evolutions.
Managing Fire-as-a-Weapon in Large-Scale Civil Unrest Events (One or Two-Day Practical)
Addresses fire-as-a-weapon tactics during large-scale civil unrest, civil riots, and protests. Participants learn incident management, multi-agency coordination, and tactical response when responders or facilities are targeted with fire during civil unrest operations.
The Tactical Fire Company Train-the-Trainer Program (40-Hour Lecture and Practical)
Threat Suppression developed the Tactical Fire Company program, which inserts fire personnel into hot zone activity with SWAT teams. This model overcomes the historical separation between tactical teams and fire suppression, enabling real-time coordination when fire becomes part of an active hostile incident. Tactical Fire Company training teaches fire personnel how to operate in high-threat environments while maintaining the speed and decisiveness required during tactical operations. Learn more about this course here.
Important: This is Not a Firefighting Course
Officers will not learn how to put out fires. Instead, participants learn how to operate tactically when fire is introduced, how to combat fire in high-threat situations, how to conduct hostage rescues, and how to coordinate with fire suppression teams. Firefighters also learn how to integrate quickly with law enforcement during potentially hostile environments.
Host Requirements
Lecture courses require classroom, computer, projector, and audio system. Hands-on courses require training grounds or facility suitable for live-fire evolutions, minimum of three certified live-fire instructors, pallets and straw, hose equipment, master stream apparatus, positive pressure ventilation fans, breaching equipment, extraction equipment, and SWAT/tactical personnel for training support. The host is also responsible for ensuring the state fire marshal's office has granted an NFPA 1403 exemption for the training.
Threat Suppression's Experience
Threat Suppression is an approved provider of integrated active assailant response training for the Department of War, having delivered more than 165 courses at 45 major installations and trained more than 20,000 service members. The company has invested more than 50,000 hours in internal active assailant research. Leadership commanded active assailant events and served as lead authors on the 2021 Oxford High School mass shooting after-action report, one of the most comprehensive analyses of an active assailant incident response.
Threat Suppression participates in multiple state and federal workgroups that shape national active assailant preparedness standards. The company provides active assailant preparedness training, rescue task force courses, emergency management support, behavioral threat assessment and management, exercises, after-action reviews, and physical security services to federal agencies, military installations, public safety organizations, healthcare systems, schools, and private organizations. Our work combines operational experience, applied research, and field-tested instruction.
REQUEST A QUOTE | DOWNLOAD COURSE DETAILS
To schedule this course for your agency, discuss customization options, or learn more about instructor qualifications and delivery format, please contact us.
Email: info@ThreatSuppression.com
Phone: 800.231.9106
Download the full course description (PDF) with detailed learning objectives, topic breakdown, and host requirements.
