Ever been in a bomb scare?

[Hardbopjazz]

Today at work someone called in a bomb threat. Everyone left the building for about 2 hours. Then we were told we could come back to work. The police brought dogs, but these does looked a bit too old to be sniffing out bombs. Some co-workers just left and went home. Well since I am typing this, I guess the building is safe.

If you wanted to blow up the building, why phone it in?

Edited May 24, 2004 by Hardbopjazz

[rockefeller center]

If you wanted to blow up the building, why phone it in?

To give those in the building a chance to leave it.

[Rooster_Ties]

I was at work in a 20-story building here in Kansas City when there was a bomb scare several years ago (well before 9/11). It happened around 2:30pm, and everyone had to leave the building. After about one hour, people who normally to work fairly early were already at the end of their day -- but they wouldn't let anyone into the parking garage (under the building) to get their cars. You can imagine that people were NOT at all happy about that. It's one thing to get to spend the afternoon out in the sun, now working -- but entirely another to be told you can have your car for at least another hour after you normally get off work.

I think they finally sounded the "all clear" and let everyone get their cars around 4:30pm.

Me??? I lived only one mile from work at the time, so when 4 o'clock rolled around, I just walked home -- cuz I had walked to work in the first place that day.

None of us thought it was vary scary, but this was pre-9/11, remember. Not sure what the reaction would be now, though I suspect it would still be somewhat similar, actually.

Edited May 24, 2004 by Rooster_Ties

[7/4]

It happened all the time when I was in high school.

[catesta]

Went through it a few times when I was a kid in school.

It always turned out to be a practical joke.

[7/4]

Went through it a few times when I was a kid in school.

It always turned out to be a practical joke.

or a sunny day and someone wanted to take the day off.

[A Lark Ascending]

Way back in 1974 when the IRA campaign in mainland Britain was at its peak I was at a Caravan concert. I remember it being a really marvellous concert and about 90 minutes in the lights went up and we all got ushered out for 30 minutes.

After the all clear we all went back inside and the band played for another 45 minutes.

I suspect the warning was called in by some proto-punks, calling time on the sort of music Caravan stood for two years before the musical sky fell in!

[catesta]

Went through it a few times when I was a kid in school.

It always turned out to be a practical joke.

or a sunny day and someone wanted to take the day off.

We had 3 in a one week period my sophmore year of high school. The kid who called them in got busted and his parents shipped him off to Military School. We had to make the days up at the end of the school year.

Oh man, that making the days up business sucks.

We never actually got to take the whole day off, it was usually just enough time out of class to play a game or two of dodge ball.

[Simon Weil]

There's a bridge near where I live which a couple of times has been a target for IRA bombs. I used to go under it a lot on my bike. Once there were some black plastic bags underneath it. I phoned it in. The policeman who replied took it seriously, replying sardonically to the effect of "If you hear a bang...".

You've got to admire these guys, going to have a look (no bang).

Simon Weil

Edited May 25, 2004 by Simon Weil

[Shawn]

Well I remember one time I scared myself into thinking there was a bomb scare! I was working at a used CD store in the Broadway neighborhood of Seattle and we had our fair share of weirdos that would come in from time to time. One night this rather suspicious looking guy came in with this big suitcase, he walked around the store a couple times, glancing all around...then he set the suitcase down in the middle of the store and left!!!! My first instinct was to yell after him to take the suitcase, my second impulse was to pick it up and throw it in the dumpster...but as I reached down to pick it up all the espionage movies I had ever seen came to mind...and I decided to call the cops instead. About 30 minutes went by, this one VERY bored beat cop walked in, looked at the suitcase..and then KICKED IT!!!!! I almost dropped dead, anyway, he realized that it was empty. He opened it and the only thing inside was 1 dirty sock.....

I felt pretty damn stupid...but now it just strikes me as funny.

[Alexander]

Once, when I was working in a B.U. office, a bomb threat was called in. The cops came, but they didn't evacuate the building! I was very upset, and I told my boss that I couldn't continue to work if they refused to take the threat seriously. She let me go home, but told me that I was making a big deal out of nothing, since such threats were never real and no one ever REALLY blew up office buildings. I said that it would be better to err on the side of caution and evacute the building for a thorough search then ignore it and have it turn out to be the real deal. Well, there was no bomb, of course. And I was made to look like an idiot. Except...

Almost a year to the DAY after the false bomb threat, Oaklahoma City happened. I remember going in to work, walking up to the boss who accused me of making a big deal out of nothing and said, "So no one really blows up office buildings, huh?"

I have a feeling it would be taken seriously if it happened today...

[RainyDay]

This is a true story that happened about 20 years ago, I swear on my own life. I worked for a public agency that was a very desirable place to work. There was a recruitment for a particular job that is very popular and hundreds of people typically apply. One person flunked out of the training. He was from Iran. He called the General Manager's office and threatened to fly a plane into the administration building because he was fired. We found out about the threat after all the excitement was over (and there was no evacuation).

About a couple years later on a Friday night, a guy who was fired drove a company sedan through the plate glass window on the first floor and it started a fire. He took the elevator to upper floors and started throwing computers out of the windows.

There were periodic bomb threats but I don't recall there ever was an evacuation.

I finally quit during the reign of a General Manager who was nearly crazy. All the executive support staff honestly believed he was possessed by the devil. The rest of us just thought he was nuts.

There was never a dull moment at this agency.

Edited May 25, 2004 by RainyDay

[DTMX]

Went through it a few times when I was a kid in school.

It always turned out to be a practical joke.

or a sunny day and someone wanted to take the day off.

They always called ours in on cold, rainy days - usually early in the morning so we could wear our wet clothes all day.

[medjuck]

We were shooting a film at the Prague airport and were forced to close down and evacuate because of a bomb threat. No bomb. Came back the next day and finished.

Edited May 25, 2004 by medjuck

[tooter]

About two years ago I was woken up in the small hours by a very loud explosion in the locality. I listened and listened but heard nothing further. I looked at the news the next morning and nothing! Complete mystery. But I did hear a real bomb once here in London - terrorists trying to hurt somebody royal - few years ago. I knew it was bomb straight away.

[jack]

I have been in many bomb scares. One job was at a state funded agency and I guess a lot of people did not like that my company got the contract because, there were many calls, evacuations, and many days of going home early.

Later I switched jobs (another state/public agency) and our office was located in the same building as the local Urban League. Many more threats, evacuations, and days of going home early. From the statistics later on, my agency received just as many threatening calls (if not more) that the Urban League.

[neveronfriday]

Without going into details, our house was the target of several bomb threads in the late 70s, early 80s. We had cops patrolling our house/grounds once every thirty minutes for almost 6 years. A drag when parties were happenin'.

True story, again.

Man, I gotta delete some posts tomorrow.

Cheers!

[couw]

Man, I gotta delete some posts tomorrow.

stop drinking and posting all at once!

(you may notice I do not actually quote any of the posts you write here....)

[neveronfriday]

Haven't had a drink since Friday.

Surprisingly enough.

That's the scary thing.

[mgraham333]

We had 3 in a one week period my sophmore year of high school. The kid who called them in got busted and his parents shipped him off to Military School. We had to make the days up at the end of the school year.

I like what must have been the parental logic in that case...

The kid wants to make up stories about bombs....let's send him to military school to play with the real thing....

[Larry Kart]

We were in London in about '88, at the Forbidden Planet bookstore on our last afternoon in town while our son (about 12) spent at least an hour culling out from the stock every precious Judge Dredd comic book he could find. Just as we got to the counter, the whole block was evacuated because of a bomb scare (IRA I believe), and we were told that the store would not reopen that day. Only now am I beginning to be forgiven for this.

[neveronfriday]

We were in London in about  '88, at the Forbidden Planet bookstore on our last afternoon in town while our son (about 12) spent at least an hour culling out from the stock  every precious Judge Dredd comic book he could find. Just as we got to the counter, the whole block was evacuated because of a bomb scare (IRA I believe), and we were told that the store would not reopen that day. Only now am I beginning to be forgiven for this.

Forbidden Planet is probably THE bookstore in London, next to MURDER ONE, which has, in the basement, Andy Richard's selection of second hand books. Check out Cold Tonnage for Andy's great (and reasonably-priced books) ... highly recommended!

Cheers!

[ejp626]

I worked in New York during 9/11. Our offices were in 5 Penn Plaza, off 34th St. In fact, our office windows faced the Trade Center, so you can imagine what that was like. Almost no one came in the next day, but then the remainder of the week, there were frequent bomb scares with our building, One Penn Plaza and a nearby hotel. At one point, there were probably 2000 people milling about on the sidewalks, trying to decide whether to wait and go back up or to go home.

[Hardbopjazz]

Well they caught the jerk that made the bomb threat here yesterday. Jerk used his cell phone and it was traced. He lived in Brooklyn. Police went and arested him this morning. If you're going to put in a bomb threat, use a pay phone, at least you can't be traced like a cell phone.

[7/4]

Well they caught the jerk that made the bomb threat here yesterday. Jerk used his cell phone and it was traced. He lived in Brooklyn. Police went and arested him this morning. If you're going to put in a bomb threat, use a pay phone, at least you can't be traced like a cell phone.

dumb fuck.