What are the five C's for Explosives?

• A. Confirm, Clear, Check, Cordon, Control
• B. Confirm, Clear, Check, Contain, Control
• C. Confirm, Clear, Calibrate, Cordon, Control
• D. Confirm, Clear, Check, Cordon, Coordinate

Answer: (A)

In Explosives incident response, the five C's provide a practical sequence to keep people safe and bring the situation under control: Confirm, Clear, Check, Cordon, Control. Start with Confirm, which means quickly validating whether a device is present and what level of risk it poses. This isn’t about handling anything dangerous yet; it’s about establishing the reality of the threat so the right actions can be taken.

Next is Clear, evacuating and moving people away from the potential blast area to a safe distance and establishing a safe access corridor for responders. This step protects lives by eliminating exposure to the hazard.

Check follows, focusing on identifying any additional devices or related hazards and assessing the scene for other risks. It’s about ensuring you don’t miss secondary threats while keeping the area secure.

Cordon is about setting up an official perimeter that restricts access to authorized personnel only, creating a controlled zone around the hazard to prevent contamination or harm and to give responders room to work.

Finally, Control centers on directing the incident: coordinating resources, communications, and actions, and maintaining overall scene safety and order. This sequence aligns with standard EOD and incident command practices, emphasizing verification, protection, thorough assessment, isolation, and organized leadership to prevent further harm.