FY2011 Arlington Fire Department Annual Report FY 2011 | Page 16

Newsletter Title

Page 16

SB XLV - Fire Prevention
Fire Prevention‘s goal to ensure the safety of the public at
the Super Bowl began in August with reviews of site and
construction plans. These plans were examined to ensure
compliance with the City‘s adopted codes. On January 10,
2011, when construction began at Cowboys Stadium, a
Fire Inspector was assigned 24 hours a day to ensure that
all life safety requirements were being met. During these
inspections, significant safety issues were identified with
the temporary seating that was being installed. These
issues, coupled with the ice and snow falling from the roof
that damaged and blocked several large exits, required redesign of the Fire Prevention staffing
plan, increasing it by 150 percent.
Fire Prevention was also responsible for all Explosive
Ordnance Disposal operations pertaining to the Super
Bowl. The EOD Team provided detection, identification,
and mitigation capabilities while conducting vehicle,
stadium, and patron sweeps at all Super Bowl-related
venues in Arlington and the surrounding area. To
accomplish this task, the EOD Team planned and
coordinated with Arlington Police, numerous Federal
agencies, and nine local bomb squads. The largest single
sweep (of the entire interior and exterior of the stadium)
required the coordination of 105 personnel and 78 Explosives K-9s. This sweep was
accomplished the Friday night before the Super Bowl and took nine hours. From that point until
after the Super Bowl was over, the EOD Team began 24 hour operation.

SB XLV - Special Operations
Special Operations teams played
critical roles in ensuring the safety
of patrons at Super Bowl XLV. The
Spec Ops group included local,
State, and Federal partners:
Began two years out with the organization, orientation and training of the various work groups
from local, State, and Federal level resources
A joint Special Services Branch Command Post was staffed by key personnel from the Fire
Department‘s Special Operations group and Explosives Ordinance Disposal Team, along with
liaisons from Federal and State resources. The Branch Command Post was staffed for eight
days.

Working Together to Make Arlington Better.

16