D.C. fire responds to false 911 ‘swatting’ call targeting White House
![Outside the White House. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)](https://thumb.spokesman.com/uO6q6eDqVn9RLDznlEJuDvMVKgE=/600x0/media.spokesman.com/graphics/2018/07/sr-loader.png)
The White House became the latest target of an apparent “swatting” call when D.C.’s dispatch center received a false report Monday morning claiming the executive mansion was on fire, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
Noah Gray, the chief combinations officer for the D.C. fire department, said the city’s 911 center received the emergency call at 7:03 a.m. reporting a structure fire at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., one of the most recognizable addresses in the nation.
A minute later, at least a dozen apparatuses were dispatched, including five engines, two trucks and rescue squads. Authorities said officials quickly determined there was no fire and no threat. Gray characterized the incident as a “false” emergency call.
Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, said President Biden was not at home at the time, and the mansion was not evacuated.
Guglielmi said authorities believe the call was a swatting attempt, a hoax call designed to draw first responders to a residence or office. Typically, the calls are placed to law enforcement falsely claiming a shooting or a hostage situation, hoping to get armed tactical teams to swarm a location. The White House call differed in that it drew firefighters.
There has been a recent surge of such hoax calls and other threats to officials and other prominent people in several states in recent weeks. Authorities have not said if they believe any are connected to a particular group or individual.
Typically, people making swatting calls find ways to disguise their callback numbers and identities. It was not immediately clear what information the city’s 911 center has about the call referencing the White House. A spokeswoman for the D.C. Office of Unified Communications said a statement on Monday’s incident is forthcoming.
Dispatch records from openmhz.com, which allows people to listen to live and archived radio transmission from police and fire departments, indicate officials quickly determined there was no threat to the White House.
A firefighter at a White House security gate at 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW reported that the Secret Service had “no knowledge of a fire call to this address,” according to audio on openmhz.com.
A fire dispatcher ordered “all units to stage outside perimeter until we get further information,” according to the audio. Minutes later, most firefighters were ordered to return to their stations, a process that was completed by 7:16 a.m.
Authorities said an investigation is underway.