Bomb Blast, A Clear and Present Danger
Friday, February 3rd, 2012The last serious terrorist attack on the UK mainland, the London Bombings of July, 2005 is now an event that is slowly receding from memory.
For this reason many of those responsible for building security may deem that such threats are now highly unlikely to materialise.
However, such complacency is ill-placed. We have just been reminded that terrorism in the form of the bomb threat is a clear and present danger to major cities of the UK.
This week 9 young men have been convicted of being involved in a plot to eventually blow up the London Stock Exchange. If such an attack is successful then many people either get seriously injured or killed by the blast. The Home Office currently registers the threat of such a terrorist attack at the “Substantial “ level. This means that an attack is deemed a strong possibility. In addition a total of 47 different International terrorist organisations are proscribed in Britain under the Terrorism Act 2000, so the threat is there. When this sort of tragic event occurs most of the injuries sustained by those caught in the blast are from flying glass fragments travelling at very high speeds.
The CPNI ( Centre for the Protection of the National Infrastructure) which is a branch of the Home Office, lists the Top Ten Security Guidelines for coping with the terrorist threat to buildings and crowded spaces. Number 6 in this list is “ Install appropriate physical measures” , one of these being glazing protection.
One of the most effective ways of dealing with this risk is to install security film to windows and glazed areas most likely to be affected. Previous experience from the bombing campaign of the IRA against cities during the 1990’s showed that over 90% of injuries and damage to property was caused by flying glass fragments. Insurance Companies dealing with the insurance of buildings in high risk areas now insist that glazing is protected.
To obtain the correct level of protection requires a proper risk assessment by trained security experts and the installation of the correct type of bomb blast security film by a qualified installation company such as MVM Window Films. Contact us for more information on 0845 270 3518 or email us at info@mvmwindowfilms.co.uk .

