“America has changed forever” was a phrase reiterated in one form or another by newscasters and journalists shortly after the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Owners and managers of commercial properties knew that commercial real estate would play a central role in the national shift in how we think about and address safety and security and how we apply that to preparedness in office buildings. Emergency preparedness plans were dusted off and updated, building security measures were enhanced, and perhaps most important of all to this shift, communication and outreach ramped up to unprecedented levels.
“In several cities I visited prior to 9/11, first responders knew very little about the properties in their jurisdiction,” notes Mike Coleman, vice president, Commercial Real Estate, AlliedBarton Security Services. “Now there are active lists, communication links and evacuation staging being coordinated with government agencies.”
Following 9/11 property professionals were thirsty for as much information and tools as they could get their hands on. Coleman was a speaker in a BOMA-hosted teleconference on preparedness shortly after 9/11 that had approximately 5,000 participants. “The result of this conference call was the formation of the BOMA Preparedness Committee, which has taken us light years in our communication, planning and relationship with government agencies like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).”
Joe Donovan, senior vice president with Beacon Capital Partners LLC and current chair of BOMA’s Preparedness Committee, notes that while there was some pain early on when DHS was cobbled together from other groups, the foundation blocks are now in place as the business model grows. “We’re starting to see a much more active networking program start to take hold so information sharing can be performed more efficiently and effectively,” explains Donovan. “The infrastructure protection group within DHS has shown very positive signs in their willingness to work and participate with the private sector.”
Other government agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Federal Emergency Management Agency have also gone through a renaissance in recent years, enhancing outreach with the private sector.
The Big Picture of Preparedness
Advancements in building security and technology have kept pace with the expansion of communication and outreach, making the office environment a much safer place. Using remote video and other technologies allow building personnel to capture, track, and trend incidents to help build a better security program. Notes Coleman, “The advancements have really helped us be better prepared, and user-friendly technologies are being utilized to enhance security in general. Remote video, the ability to be notified of an incident electronically, the dispatch of personnel and additional resources all are critical.”
Improved security certainly gives tenants more peace of mind in regards to terrorist threats or other dangerous or life-threatening occurrences, but enhancements are also cutting back on incidents of other criminal activity. Coleman recalls a recent rash of laptop thefts in the Philadelphia region that was quickly resolved because of policies and procedures already instituted. “Through the programs initiated by the Preparedness and Safety and Security Committee and the broad communication network, the local building personnel were able to catch the perpetrator quickly.”
How Far We’ve Come – Preparedness and Security 10 Year Later
By Jason Todd
Security firms have sought and received DHS Safety Act Certification/Designation for security programs throughout portfolios to provide the greatest amount of protection to clients and accounts.
The best preparedness plans are adaptable as well as comprehensive. On the morning of 9/11, Ed Fallon, vice president of operations, New York Region, Brookfield Office Properties, was in charge of operations for the World Financial Center complex and One Liberty Plaza, properties adjacent to the World Trade Center. Having an updated preparedness plan in place helped ensure that these properties had swift and orderly evacuations, even though the plan in place was focused on a much different type of disaster. “Our preparedness plans really weren’t geared for terrorism at the time, but more geared for a Hurricane,” says Fallon. “It made the situation a little less chaotic knowing we had a plan in place to handle large numbers of people going in the same direction.”
A Local Perspective and an Ever-Shifting Threat
The ramp up in security and preparedness has made commercial buildings and tenants safer as the “threat” zone has expanded beyond the iconic cities and structures traditionally thought to be at greater risk.
New York City is not surprisingly ahead of the game on preparedness, where each building is mandated under Local Law 26 to have an Emergency Action Plan and an Emergency Action Plan Director, but other cities are quickly developing a preparedness infrastructure to deal with different threats.
“We’re really trying to make people aware that there are 50 states and many things can and will go wrong,” remarks Donovan. “We have encouraged BOMA local associations across the country to stand up preparedness committees and now there are many, many more preparedness committees than 10 years ago. In the past year alone, we have seen committees stand up in Stamford, D.C., and Portland, Ore., Jacksonville, St Louis and San Diego are on the horizon.”
Donovan explains that the need is ever present for people to be vigilant and to stay connected, whether they are in a large city like Chicago, New York or Boston or in smaller markets like Portland, Oregon or Springfield, Ill. “The terrorists have redefined what success will be,” says Donovan. “There have been more terrorism arrests in the U.S. in the last 18 months than there were the prior six years and all of those arrests can be categorized as ‘lone wolf’ operators.”
In 2009 authorities arrested a man who was plotting to blow up a Federal Courthouse in Springfield, Ill. In the same year, a man was arrested in Dallas for attempting to blow up a skyscraper with a car bomb. During a 2010 sting operation in Portland, Ore. authorities arrested a man who was plotting to blow up a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Perhaps the most well-known “lone wolf” plot was the Times Square car bomb attempt of May 2010. “The Times Square event was actually a success, for us, because it reinforced the need for the intelligence community to understand the value of the private sector to identify suspicious behavior,” says Donovan. “This was reinforced with the with the arrest of a college student attempting to buy chemicals from South Carolina for explosive devices being assembled in Texas a few months ago.”
BOMA local associations across the U.S. are adopting their business models to be prepared for various scenarios, be it terrorism, natural disasters or air-borne virus. BOMA/Denver Metro is working with DHS and the Denver Urban Area Security Initiative on the Wide Area Recovery & Resiliency Program (WAARP), a collaborative program of preparing for recovery following a catastrophic chemical, biological or radiological incident. And when the Howard Hanson Dam outside of Seattle showed signs of being undermined and damaging up to 100 million square feet of office space in the Kent Valley, BOMA/Seattle worked closely with the business and commercial real estate community and the Army Corp of Engineers to get the word out, holding a seminar attended by more than 480 people on how to prepare business for the potential flood.
Preparedness today may seem radically different than it did 10 years ago, but ultimately it comes down to having a fluid plan that covers various scenarios and knowing that the next attack, flood or outbreak can happen anywhere. Preparing for the big threat makes us all safer from every threat.
