Members admit not knowing how to evacuate from Capitol

Although security in the nation’s capital has been beefed up since Sept. 11, 2001, many lawmakers cannot remember the last planned evacuation they participated in, nor do they know where to go in an emergency.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who is serving his seventh term, was unable to recall the last time he went through a scheduled drill.

{mosads}And when asked if he was familiar with the exit routes, he replied: “No. You mean out of here? That’s a good question …”
Likewise, 10-term Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) was unclear on evacuation procedures.

“I know my staff knows. I do what I’m told. I’m the laggard in these things,” Abercrombie said.

“I feel like I’ve been out of town for virtually every one or I wasn’t in the building,” he said. “I don’t remember the last time I was here when we had one of those things.”

Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio), an eight-term lawmaker, said the last planned evacuation she was been a part of occurred a while ago.

“I know where we’re supposed to go if we’re in our office, but how often are we in our offices? … Let’s put it that way,” Pryce said. Lawmakers receive e-mails on their BlackBerry if an evacuation takes place, she said.

South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson (R) could not remember the last evacuation he was present for, but said he was out of the country the last time he got an e-mail alert.

“We get a message in our BlackBerry no matter where we are in the country,” Wilson said. “I was in the Middle East last time [we got an alert].”

But Wilson said he is confident that he knows what to do if circumstances required he and his staff evacuate their office.
“In our office we have a meeting point. I’ve learned from the two [emergency situations] we’ve experienced — [when an airplane flew into restricted airspace and when the sounds of a pneumatic hammer were confused with gun shots in Rayburn]. I’ve learned by accident. I’ve learned where the choke points are.”

Each office is supposed to have a point person who provides the details of emergency routines to their boss and the staff.
One Capitol Police officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity, voiced doubt that lawmakers were adequately prepared for an emergency. Another officer echoed his colleague’s concern, saying that lawmakers usually are escorted to specific locations if a crisis does arise.

The U.S. Capitol Police schedules evacuation drills “to minimize the impact to routine business on the Hill,” Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said. Drills are put on the calendar throughout the year.

Schneider noted that the department places signs around the Hill to “alert staff to upcoming evacuation drills within a timeframe without noting the specific time [or date].” The time and date are not included in order to protect operational planning.

Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), a former House Speaker, could not remember the specific date of the last drill he participated in, but said he thought it was about “a year or so ago.”

Hastert, an 11th-termer, believes that he’s prepared and knows where to go in case of an emergency.

“Around 9/11 we did a lot of [drills],” Hastert said. “I think we’re in pretty good shape.”

Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), ranking member of the Appropriations Committee’s legislative branch panel, said there aren’t many drills on Capitol Hill. Wamp wasn’t sure if he ever had been on the Hill during one.

“They do a lot of it in recess. Some of that is for the professionals not the elected officials,” Wamp said. “[The professionals] need to determine when to carry [them] out.”

Wamp mentioned that the public also becomes involved in any drill that takes place. He noted that the members of the public who happen to be on the Hill the day of a drill would not be the same people that would be “here in an incident.”

One Democratic aide said scheduled evacuations happen about twice a year, and said that people “kind of wander out.”

“My boss has not been through a drill that I am aware of,” the aide continued. “She’s been through one evacuation.”

The aide, who has worked on Capitol Hill for most of the last six years, said: “There has been some good advancement [since Sept. 11, 2001], but at the same time, it could go further given where we work. It’s such a highly visible structure.
Who would have thought Glasgow, Scotland? Would they have preferred the U.S. Capitol? I think that’s pretty clear.”

The chairman of the House Administration Committee with oversight of the Capitol Police, Robert Brady, said there are few routine drills on Capitol Hill.

But a few weeks ago, Brady met with the Architect of the Capitol (AoC), the Capitol Police and the House Sergeant a at Arms to work on installing permanent signs placed around the complex to direct members, staff and visitors to proper
emergency checkpoints.

“The AoC is working on a plan to put signs up directing people to go certain directions in an emergency, instead of [everybody] going one way,” Brady said, noting that in past emergencies, people have herded to the same exits. “[It will] make if safe and not too crowded.”

The signs will be similar to “those found in hotel rooms which direct people to the nearest exit points, whether it be exit doors to the outside or stairwells  — depending on location,” a spokeswoman for the AoC, Eva Malecki, wrote in an e-mail to The Hill. The signs are being installed in the Capitol and House office buildings now and will start being placed in Senate buildings in the next few months.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) chose a different tone when asked about his last scheduled evacuation.

“I was in third grade. I was really scared,” Ryan said, jokingly. In all seriousness, Ryan continued: “I don’t remember to be honest. The one I really remember was [when a plane flew into restricted airspace].”