Emergency services showed up to the White House on Monday morning after receiving a false 911 call claiming that the site was on fire, the Associated Press reported, making it the latest in a recent series of high profile “swatting” incidents
D.C. emergency services responded to a report that the White House was on fire Monday morning.
D.C. emergency services received a 911 call at 7:03 am for a “structure fire” at the White House, Noah Gray, chief communications officer for District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services, told Forbes.
Gray said fire and EMS services were dispatched at 7:04 am and “in coordination with” the Secret Service, “determined there was no fire emergency”—with companies returning to service at 7:16 am.
The AP reported that the caller also claimed a person was trapped inside.
Forbes reached out to the White House and Capitol Police for more information.
Over the past few weeks, “swatting” incidents—anonymously making a fake 911 call to prompt an emergency response—have increasingly targeted political figures, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). Tanya Chutkan, the federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s election interference case, was also a victim of an attempted “swatting” incident last week. The practice is usually done as a form of harassment or as a prank—and is often dangerous as armed emergency responders have no way of knowing such calls are hoaxes.
Fake 911 report of fire at the White House triggers emergency response while Biden is at Camp David (AP)
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