NFPA Responder Forum and Urban Fire Forum: 1. White Paper – Civil Unrest 2. Sample SOP – Civil Unrest

The United States is sometimes marred by occurrences of civil unrest. Riots and demonstrations are a reality and firefighters and paramedics, along with law enforcement, are called upon to respond and function in the midst of these difficult events. Chapter 8 of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1500 requires that fire departments develop and maintain written standard operating procedures that establish a standardized approach to the safety of members at incidents involving violence, unrest, or civil disturbance. In response to this requirement, this White Paper and Sample Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) were created by the NFPA Responder Forum in 2015 – then released to the fire community through the Urban Fire Forum in 2016. Together, these excellent documents provide critical guidance to fire department personnel as they address these incidents in close cooperation with law enforcement.