Bomb threats test evacuation procedure

A crowd of students surrounding the Cathedral of Learning conversed and soaked up the sunshine… A crowd of students surrounding the Cathedral of Learning conversed and soaked up the sunshine Wednesday afternoon, while unbeknownst to the casual observer, an evacuation was underway.

The Cathedral was evacuated twice that day – an accidental triggering of the building’s fire alarm system caused an evacuation at approximately 3:45 p.m. while a bomb threat followed just before 5 p.m. Both evacuations produced a sea of displaced students. The students were not intervening with the authorities’ procedures during either evacuation, but their proximity to the Cathedral while potential fire and bomb threats were underway raised concerns about safety.

Pitt police officer Ron Bennett said students should have been moved farther away from the building, and he’s not sure why they weren’t.

“Even with a fire, they’re to move away from the building – totally away from it,” he said. “At least out to the sidewalk.”

To prepare for evacuations such as the ones on Wednesday, the University’s department of Environmental Health and Safety coordinates evacuation drills.

The department typically runs evacuation drills of high-rise buildings – seven stories or higher – over the summer, said Jay Frerotte, the director of Environmental Health and Safety.

The drills aim to educate people, not to take them by surprise.

“[The drills] are announced. We publish the schedule in different publications, Frerotte said. “We use them as an educational exercise, which is what drills are supposed to be.”

The Cathedral is subject to at least one drill every summer. Although the 42-story building poses a particular challenge because of its size, its numerous stairwells increase its overall safety.

“It’s actually one of the safest buildings we have because of the way it’s designed,” Bennett said. “It meets and exceeds [building codes].”

During an evacuation of the Cathedral, there is no set goal regarding the exact time it should take to clear the building. Every evacuation drill at the Cathedral has resulted in total clearance in less than 20 minutes, Frerotte said, but most have been faster than that.

Pitt Police are largely responsible for enforcing evacuations. Wednesday’s bomb threat at the Cathedral required extensive police work.

Before the bomb-sniffing dogs were sent in, officers were assigned sections of the building to visually check. They also rely on an invaluable source to help them search – the building’s custodians.

Bennett explained that custodians are better attuned to the schematics of the building and know what may or may not be out of place.

“What may look unusual for us may not be unfamiliar to a custodian,” Bennett said. “When things like [bomb threats] occur, we need their help.”

Officers are required to search the scene exactly as they find it during their visual investigation. Even so much as a light switch must be left off if found that way.

“If the door’s locked we leave it locked, and actually, that’s proper protocol,” Bennett said.

Should a bomb-sniffing dog trace a scent to a locked door, officers will then ask a custodian to unlock it.

Last Wednesday’s bomb threat resulted in a fortunately fruitless search for the dogs. During the two-hour span of the search, students who showed up for class were denied entry by police officers stationed at the building’s entrances.

To round up the week, two more bomb threats were called in to the Pitt Police station at approximately 8:30 Friday morning. This time Hillman Library and Posvar Hall were targeted.

According to Bennett, the caller’s voice “was very similar” to Wednesday’s Cathedral caller, whose voice was electronically disguised. Encrypted voices prevent police from identifying the caller’s identity through voice recognition.

Pitt Police finished searching Hillman Library and Posvar Hall less than 40 minutes after the call was received. No explosives were found.

Since the University experienced several false alarms last week, Frerotte said that students can become desensitized to potential emergency situations.

Some students were initially skeptical about the thorough search of the Cathedral on Wednesday, but Frerotte said they still responded in the right way.

“I wouldn’t say that people take it too lightly,” he said. “They react when they hear the signal or when they’re told to evacuate. They still react even though they might not have grim and serious faces.”