Hill Re-Examines Evacuation Policy
By Sarah Sparks
WASHINGTON – Congress has always had pages’ worth of protocol on emergency procedures, from warning alarms to voice-mail systems to notices on members’ beepers, but during last Tuesday’s evacuation, the most potent warnings still came from word-of-mouth.
“One of the Capitol Police actually ran door-to-door, telling us to get out,” said Matt Ferraguto, press assistant for Senator Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. “Then, the chief of staff (Mary Beth Cahill) and the deputy chief of staff actually went through the office and made sure every single person in the office was leaving. They were the last ones to leave.”
The Capitol has had as many real evacuations in the last week as it has had drills in the last year. In light of the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York City, the U.S. Capitol Police have set up a task force to re-examine emergency procedures. It will scrutinize “existing physical, operational and technical security needs, and will provide the Member(s) with written proposals” to correct problems, according to a memo by Wilson Livingood, House Sergeant at Arms. System-wide, the task force will work to improve emergency communication and extend escape plans.
“After all, this was the first evacuation in the Capitol’s 200-year history in which we had to evacuate all 19 buildings at once,” said Lt. Dan Nichols, spokesman for the Capitol Police.
It has never been needed before. According to Bruce Milhans, communications officer for the Architect of the Capitol, the last real emergency evacuation came from a small office fire in the Canon House office building. Normally each building separately schedules one morning and one off-hours all-purpose drill; there are no specific procedures for bombing evacuations and no Capitol-wide simultaneous drills.
Steven Schwadron, press director and emergency point-man for Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., said the office’s own emergency measures are flexible. “It depends on the nature of the threat. How far away do you have to get? From what direction does the threat come? Is it fire or airplanes? It’s difficult to be precise about that,” Schwadron said.
“As for what happens after you get out of the building, well, I guess it depends on which way the smoke is blowing.”
Kelley Benander, press secretary for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, said the senator’s office is close to the exit in the Russell Senate building, and staff members are able to get to their designated spot on the West side of the building quickly.
Ferraguto, whose office is just a few doors down, agrees. “We all come out the same door so it’s very easy to see each other. Last time (during the false bomb threat) it took a matter of two minutes to find everyone,” Ferraguto said.
Kennedy is considering selecting another meeting place outside of the Capitol center, but so far, neither Kennedy’s, Kerry’s or Delahunt’s offices have secondary meeting places for staff members who have to leave the area entirely.
And once members or staff become separated, it can be difficult to get information. “We’re in scattered locations so it’s difficult to do this,” Schwadron said. “We have peoples’ cell phones and home numbers for emergencies, but of course that day (of the attacks) neither of those worked. We just had to be patient.”
Many members of Congress and their staffs complained about sketchy and scattered information during the crisis, Nichols said. Better communications systems are a top priority for the Capitol Police. They are planning to use everything from public address systems and bullhorns to messages on Congressional beepers to keep the members informed.
Delahunt said most of the responsibility for evacuations lies with members and staff themselves. “It’s not a military operation. (In Delahunt’s office) it’s a small number of people, all of whom are mature and responsible people who can size up danger when they see it.”
