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Alarm Evacuates Senate Building
"We were held two hours down in the garage," he said. "We understand that. They weren't sure what the monitors were picking up."
He added: "The police were very professional. We don't take any of these [false alarms] for granted."
  Police were stationed at the doors of the building, and several ambulances and firetrucks idled as investigators in white protective hazmat suits entered and exited the building. (Linda Davidson - The Washington Post) |
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who is a physician, also lauded the emergency response.
"I'm sure tomorrow there will be a lot of questions whether it was necessary to quarantine'' the evacuees, he said, after monitoring the situation from the Capitol Police command post. "The answer is yes."
Frist added that he had been in e-mail contact with some of the people in the garage.
"Everyone's fine," he said at 9:30 p.m., shortly before the evacuees were given the all-clear. "They're ready to go home."
It was not clear how many similar sensor alerts have occurred in recent years at the Capitol complex. Capitol Police said in 2004 that its hazmat team responded to three to 10 false alarms daily on Capitol Hill involving hazardous material scares.
On Feb. 2, 2004, authorities found traces of ricin, a lethal poison, in the mail room of Frist's office. The investigation remains open.
Frist said the evacuation and response appeared different this time.
"What is different today is you don't see the panic," he said.
