Oklahoma City Bombing

Marissa Pittman went to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and Museum for the 16th anniversary service on April 19, 2011. There, she heard stories from Donna Weaver, the widow of Michael D. Weaver who was killed in the attacks, Major Ed Hill of the Oklahoma City Police Department, a rescue worker on the day of the attacks, John Richels, the Chairman of the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation and Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin. Also, Marissa talked to Jordan Turner, an 18 year-old Oklahoma City native whose mother, Shelly D. Bland, was killed during the attacks.


RUNS: 2:14
VIDEO BY: Marissa Pittman

Following the devastating acts of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, the United States federal building security was created.

Currently, there are 9,000 federal facilities with about one million employees protected under this security. It is overseen by the Federal Protective Service (FPS) with a budget of about $1 billion. The FPS employees about 1,200 full-time workers and about 13,000 guards deployed at federal agencies.

“With this Memorial and Museum, it is the hope of the rescue workers that our stories continue to be shared with future generations so they can understand the full impact and senselessness of such violence,” Major Ed Hill of the Oklahoma City Police Department said.

This security ensures many rules to keep federal buildings safe, including classifying buildings into five different levels and establishing security requirements for each of them.

Level V was created for the buildings that are critical to national security, such as the Pentagon and CIA Headquarters. Level V requires 451 or more federal employees occupying the building and over 150,000 square feet of space. The tenants of these buildings secure the site according to their own requirements.

Level IV has the same requirements for the number of people and space as well as having a high volume of public contact. It also includes agencies that are high-risk law enforcement and intelligence agencies, such as the FBI, DEA and ATF. Level IV also includes the Federal courts, judicial offices and highly delicate government archives.

Level III is a building with 151 to 450 federal employees with a moderate to high volume of public contact and 80,000 to 150,000 square feet of space. This type of building includes law enforcement agencies, court related agencies and function and government records and archives.

Level II is a building that has 11 to 150 federal employees, moderate volume of public contact and 2,500 to 80,000 square feet of space. Level II includes federal activities that are routine in nature, similar to commercial activities.

Level I has 10 or fewer federal employees with a low volume of public contact or contact with only a small percentage of the population. It has 2,500 or less square feet of space, such as a small “store front” type of operation, such as a military recruiting office. Level I is more susceptible to be attack.

“As we continue forward, we know that what was meant for evil has been used for good,” Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said.
Other methods are used to make sure that these buildings are safer, including glass glazing to reduce the possible injuries from shattering glass. Also, measures have been taken to prevent progressive collapses of buildings.

The U.S. General Services Administration website states that “from the installation of alarm systems, x-rays, magnetometers and entry control systems, to monitoring those systems 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, providing uniformed police response and investigative follow-up, the FPS is organized to protect and serve.”

The United States federal building security is available to help minimize terrorist attacks and damage caused from terrorist attacks so that Americans do not have to be in fear of another attack like that of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.