"SFO: Mock grenades left behind after training"

Friday, January 21, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT 
Mock grenades left behind after training
By Alan Gathright
The San Francisco (CA) Chronicle


San Francisco International Airport authorities said Thursday they'll
tighten rules for law enforcement exercises in a shuttered terminal after
firefighters left behind three mock grenades and a replica handgun during a
recent training. 

SFO spokesman Mike McCarron said there was no security risk posed by the
simulated weapons, because a janitor found them Wednesday in a locked room
in the former international terminal that is closed to the public. 

San Francisco Fire Department spokesman Pete Howes said members of a
hazardous material team accidentally left behind the devices last month
while training on how to handle suspicious devices discovered at a HazMat
scene. 

"The department's homeland security director is going to have someone in the
future who's in charge of inventory control to makes sure that things aren't
left behind,'' Howes said. 

It's a federal offense for a member of the public to attempt to carry such
devices past airport security checkpoints. 

"I'm sure there's going to be a review of procedures to make sure that it
doesn't happen again,'' McCarron said. "They're totally harmless, but they
appear real. 

"It's more of an accounting issue as far as keeping track of where these
things are. It's up to the individual agency. They should keep track of
these things,'' he added. 

The simulated weapons were found by the custodian about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
on the floor of the locked room in Terminal 2, which has been closed to the
public since the new international terminal opened in late 2000. McCarron
said various law enforcement agencies have held drills there in recent
months. 


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