Originally Posted by
LoganTSO
Maybe he was moving it towards
one of these things? We have them at every checkpoint in BOS. Granted there's only one angle so it's hard to tell what he did with it off camera.
Granted it's not the first time it happened,
there was the BDO in MCO, who took another burning bag, (except it was a burning Raspberry Pi board) and ducked it behind the nearby massive column to mitigate the potential blast had it been it an IED.
Thankfully in this case, everyone scattered as soon as they noticed it.
*shrug*
Had a vape battery go off in baggage claim here at BOS. Owner noticed it smoking and decided "maybe I should bail". Then someone else put it out. Practically everyone just stood there. MSP and Massport Fire and they didn't appear to shut down the baggage claim area.
The point is not what he may or may not have been moving the bag toward - the point is that when the bag started smoking, bringing up the potential of an IED about to go BOOM, he should not have touched it at all, because even the slightest jostling could trigger an explosion. But he - and his colleagues - should have IMMEDIATELY cleared the area of anyone who could have been hurt by a potential blast, and IMMEDIATELY called for the experts who have the training and experience and authority to determine for sure whether this was or was not an explosive.
As I said, I commend the guy for not freezing up or running away to save his own posterior. He did something, which is better than nothing, but the something in this case was the worst possible something he could have chosen.
Procedure: Simple. Potential bomb? EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY, and CALL THE BOMB SQUAD.
TSA: OUR safety is supposed to be your number one priority, not cheap heroics that actually worsen the situation and endanger more people.
<sigh>He probably got a medal and a cash bonus, too.