Harris Regional bomb threat turns out to be false alarm

By Lisa Majors-Duff

According to hospital spokesman and marketing director Brian Thomas, an individual trapped in the facility's passenger elevator just after 6 a.m. Tuesday picked up the emergency phone to make his predicament known.

But when someone is trapped in the elevator and they pick up the phone, if they don't speak immediately, a computer-generated message is sent to the hospital switchboard, Thomas said. This system is designed to alert emergency personnel should the victim be unable to speak, he said.

Due to a malfunction of the computer-generated message, which garbled the first part of the message, the switchboard operator thought she heard "a bomb has been activated," instead of "the elevator alarm has been activated," Thomas said.

The switchboard operator, following hospital protocol to insure patient and employee safety, activated the WestCare Emergency Preparation Plan, Thomas said. The administrator on call and local emergency agencies were immediately contacted.

"The emergency agencies set up a command post and staging area in the parking lot across from the hospital," he said. "All non-clinical staff were asked to wait in this area until the hospital could be determined safe."

Nursing personnel remained at their stations and inpatient care was uninterrupted during the physical search of the building. Patients were informed of the situation by hospital administrators and staff.

"The personal safety of our patients and staff were of utmost concern, and preparations were made for any necessary evacuation," said Lee Isley, WestCare's vice president of strategic services.

Responders from the Sylva Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff's Department, rescue squad, WestCare EMS, Sylva Fire Department and the county's emergency management staff provided a facility search, Thomas said. The Sheriff's Department provided a dog to make a final sweep.

"I want to thank everyone for their cooperation and assistance," said Sylva Assistant Chief Mary Cook. "Everyone there did a great job, and we really appreciate it."

The building was determined to be clear of any threat around 10 a.m. and normal operations and surgeries resumed, Thomas said. A trace of the original phone call was conducted by police officers and sheriff's department deputies, with assistance from Don Schlagle, director of environmental services at WestCare.

"Upon further investigation during the day, it was determined that the call had originated from the hospital elevator alarm system," Thomas said.

"There was no reason to believe there wasn't a bomb at Harris Regional Hospital," said WestCare CEO Mark Leonard. "We took the necessary precautions to insure the safety of our patients and staff."

"The threat was taken very seriously," said Schlagle. "All emergency response plans were activated to include notification of all emergency agencies whose cooperation was phenomenal." Since Tuesday's false alarm, steps have been to prevent a similar mistake in the future, Thomas said.

"All switchboard operators have been informed about the elevator's emergency message and the recording that is generated," he said.

On a positive note, should a real bomb threat be called in to Harris Regional, "we'll know we've been through it and that we handled it great," Thomas said.

"Everyone who took part in this should be proud of fellow staff and emergency agencies," Leonard said.

Back to Archive: 07/12/01.