University officials are examining the school’s crisis plan in order to shore up weaknesses and bolster strengths, after a threatening letter mailed to the school compelled a University employee and five Eugene firefighters to seek medical treatment two weeks ago.
The plan, last updated in 2000, details how hundreds of departments on campus systematically communicate emergencies to their employees and coordinate their efforts with other agencies.
“We realize now that we need to have a little better communication plan with local agencies,” said Thomas Hicks, associate director for the Department of Public Safety. “Communication went pretty well within the campus community, but there was some breakdown.”
Hicks said it was unclear whether DPS, the first agency called to the scene, was responsible for notifying local law enforcement and health agencies in the event of a campus crisis.
“We need to work on that,” Hicks said.
McKenzie-Willamette Hospital officials hadn’t heard confirmed reports of the letter until the University employee and the firefighters sought treatment.
When public safety officials meet with local law enforcement and health officials in the near future, they also will attempt to clarify how the chain of command should operate between agencies responding to a crisis such as the Nov. 15 incident.
About 9 a.m. that day, University physics emeritus professor Bernd Crasemann and his assistant opened a letter postmarked from Malaysia and a suspicious white powder spilled out. At 9:23 a.m., Crasemann called the Department of Public Safety, which sent officers to the scene. Eventually, FBI agents and hazardous materials workers responded. The FBI later determined the substance was harmless.
But some still question whether officials made the right decisions to protect physics employees and students, had the letter contained anthrax, and whether those decisions were made in a timely fashion.
“My impression was that they should have closed the door to (Crasemann’s office),” said Sasha Tavenner-Kruger, a fourth-year physics graduate student who was working in her office in 271 Willamette, just down the hall from where the letter was received. “That never happened.”
Officials ordered employees in offices near Crasemann’s office to leave at about noon, said Alexandre Denissov, a third-year physics graduate student. Denissov said the office he shares, 261, was closed at that time.
“I think they handled it pretty well,” he said.
But Bonnie Grimm, building manager for the physics
department, said the chain of command among officials working the scene needed to be more clearly identified, a criticism Hicks acknowledged.
“There were decisions that had to be made,” Grimm said. “And there was a lack of knowledge as to who would make those decisions.”
Grimm said the most pressing decisions were whether to evacuate the building, when to inform employees and whether to shut down the building’s air and heating system. Officials deemed the threat valid at noon because of the ominous language in the letter, which read in part, “Death to the oppressor.”
Officials shut down the air and heating system in the area of Crasemann’s office and notified physics employees. But because officials felt the area had been properly contained, they decided not to evacuate the building, said Dan Williams, vice president for administration and finance.
Williams said those responsible for communicating crisis details to their employees will meet sometime after the holidays to discuss how the situation was handled.
The University Office of Communications, which handled the majority of calls from employees and members of the media seeking information about the mail threat, may also do some tweaking to its portion of the crisis plan this week, said acting deputy director Pauline Austin.
“I think there were a number of people who didn’t have as much information as they wanted,” Austin said.
Workers in the communications office normally disseminate information to an off-campus audience, Austin said, and they weren’t sure which medium would be optimal for informing those on campus.
“We rely heavily on e-mail,” Austin said. “But if we had tried to notify everybody via e-mail, it would have jammed the system.”
The department aimed for a balance of e-mail, meetings and Web updates. Public safety officers also set up a hotline for those seeking the latest concrete information.
“The (crisis plan) is constantly evolving because people and circumstances continue to change,” said John Crosiar, associate director of communications. “Obviously, this was a good trial run for how the current (crisis plan) operated.”
Hicks said he was pleased with many aspects of the crisis plan.
“People were very cooperative and very understanding of our efforts,” he said. “For people who work and go to school here, this was a disruption in their daily activities. But no one criticized our efforts. I think they understood the situation.”
Some of those who understood the situation appreciated its aftermath even more.
“What went well is that it wasn’t anthrax,” Grimm said.
Emerald higher education reporter
Eric Martin can be reached at [email protected].