By Jim Haley
Herald Writer
EVERETT —Deputy fire chief Dave DeHaan lifted the envelope high over his head to the light, trying to get an outline of what was inside.
It was a "suspicious" envelope, and lifting it over his head was a demonstration of something that should not be done, he told two dozen Everett city employees who handle the mail.
DeHaan and police Capt. Mike Campbell on Wednesday conducted a class both to reassure mail handlers that it’s unlikely anything like anthrax would be sent in the mail to the city and to let them know what to do on the off chance that it does happen.
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There were dummy letters with a lot of tape or funny stains on the outside. There were letters without a return address, and those with misspellings of common words. There was even a dummy letter with a harmless powdery substance loose in the bottom, something that was passed around and felt by the city employees.
A lot of the advice dispensed Wednesday is applicable to anybody who gets a questionable package or letter in the mail.
Residents shouldn’t panic, but if they truly believe a letter or package is a danger, they should call 911, authorities said. Just don’t shake it, move it around or hold it over your head.
The bottom line is to use common sense, DeHaan said.
"The less handling (of the suspect package) you do, the better," Campbell added.
The city has established an internal system of isolating questionable letters and letting a second tier of inspectors give them a closer look.
Anything that jumps out immediately as a threat deserves careful placement on a table and then should be covered, DeHaan said. Then get everybody else out of the room, wash your hands and call 911 for help. Properly garbed firefighters will respond.
He emphasized: "Wash your hands thoroughly."
The instructors passed out pamphlets with helpful hints on how to handle biological threats received in the mail, the same pamphlet that will be available to area businesses, Campbell said. When members of the public call in, the departments will provide similar pamphlets for handling suspicious mail.
The class was useful and reassuring, said Trudy Wright, an administrative assistant who handles mail.
"I think we’re lucky as employees that the city of Everett cares enough to do this," Wright said. "It also makes you a little more aware. They don’t want us to be afraid, and they want us to be aware of the possibilities. I think that’s a great thing."
She said a suspicious letter came through her department recently, and she was reassured by DeHaan that she had done the right thing by calling attention to it.
"I’m really reassured not only that the people we work with in (fire and police) positions know what they’re doing, but they’re not making us feel like idiots," Wright said.
When talk of mailed anthrax letters escalated a couple of weeks ago, fire departments around the region were besieged with calls from people about suspicious items.
DeHaan said the department found broken soap boxes in the mail and candy from a vending machine with a powdery substance on it that proved to be sugar, but nothing else. There was one threatening letter to the police, he said.
While there’s little chance of a true biological threat, the chances of a hoax are higher. DeHaan said it’s unlikely a copycat would have the wherewithal to send something like real anthrax in the mail.
Nationally, there have been only a handful of letters sent with the anthrax spore, Campbell said. That indicates to him that whoever is sending the material has a sophisticated operation but a relatively small amount of the substance.
You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447
or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.
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