High-Tech Solutions to Low-Tech Terrorist Bombs

New Hope from B.I.G. Enterprises: High-Tech Solutions to Low-Tech Terrorist Bombs

Advances in blast-resistant guard booths and barriers can help security guards, soldiers and police survive an initial bomb blast or ramming truck…and help them continue their defense of vulnerable strategic targets.

Los Angeles, CA. – January 21, 2011 – The use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the Middle East and around the world serves as a daily reminder that “low-tech” weapons like homemade explosives and high-speed collisions are key elements in the terrorist arsenal, and to protect against these threats, B.I.G. Enterprises of Los Angeles (www.bigbooth.com) has made recent improvements in the development of the bullet- and blast-resistant guard booth.

High-technology firms are providing an array of blast- and impact-resistant guard booths, barriers and portals that can protect soldiers and citizens from bombs and speeding vehicles alike. Strategically important targets like chemical processing facilities, nuclear power plants and government buildings are already turning to these “high-tech” solutions to “low-tech” threats.

“The structure itself is designed to maintain the life inside it,” says ballistics expert Kelley Elmore of LA-based engineering firm Hopper, Elmore and Associates. The booth enables the guard inside to survive the attack and respond, preventing a truck bomb from reaching its target. “The guard booth can act as the first line of defense—it’s the ‘out there’ center of security people, security electronics, and access control,” says Bill Zalud, Editor of Security Magazine. Dave King, vice president of B.I.G. Enterprises agrees. “A booth that is designed to resist the impact of a blast and remain intact and working not only ensures the guard’s life but also allows the guard to, if required, open the gun ports and return fire.”

The threat is far from theoretical. “Poor physical security has permitted armed terrorists and bomb vehicles to get too close and sometimes to gain entrance inside the target area where they have created the maximum damage,” crisis management expert Charles Runner said in a recent article. The guard and the booth itself act as the first defense preventing a potential attacker from gaining access.

Says one former Marine who protected the Marine Corps Commandant and his family, “One person can provide security for hundreds of people depending upon their environment. Couple that with surveillance technology and you’ve just increased their vision; their eyes can be in many places at once. Link them by phone and radio to a back-up force and you have an on-call army. Basically, this new booth design protects the guard and empowers him to know what is happening within a larger perimeter. It allows rational judgments on the protection of the people and buildings under his watch.”