WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) — Post office employees say it took 45 minutes before police stepped in and evacuated the facility on V Street, SE.
“An employee yelled out that a package exploded. I was probably about 25 feet away from him and all I can think of is getting my coat and warning everyone on the way out,” said James Pickett, postal worker.
But Pickett says other postal employees weren’t able to follow him out the door.
“It was some 40-45 minutes before the building was evacuated,” he said.
“An employee came outside. She was leaving. She let the District Police know what happened and that’s when they came in and evacuated the building,” said Dena Briscoe, President of Local 140 of the Postal Workers Union.
She said managers failed to follow protocol.
“The Postal service failed to share information with employees here and in ‘Curseen Morris.’ They were briefed today; this morning… [it’s] very late. It is after the fact,” she said.
Postal workers say Friday’s incident reminds them of the 2001 Anthrax Attacks.
full story via WUSA TV Washington
This must represent the norm for every postal facility in the US. I work in the priority unit in a processing and distribution center. I have so many suspicious package stories I could not possibly tell them all. The facility where I’m employed has an Inspector’s office on site. We have had spills that the SDO didn’t want to follow protocol so she just cleans them up herself so the employees can hurriedly get back to work. Areas are never roped off so maintenance can do their job. Here’s a recent funny one (not!!)…Our aviation security clerk got a package that was leaking a white powdery substance. She contacted mgmt, no response. So she put it in a u cart and took it to her MDO’s office and he told her to get the package out of his office (hostile tone). Finally after some time when the package got to the Inspector’s….cocaine!!!!