Anxious about the unknown, patrons of Fischer's Hardware cleared out the shelves of duct tape and nearly got into a shouting match when one man tried to buy the whole roll of plastic sheeting in response to the latest warnings that "something" might happen with terrorists.
Assistant Manager Neil James saw the look of concern on the faces of shoppers on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 12.
"They're very concerned, they really don't know what to do. 'How much plastic do I need?' I got that question about 20 times yesterday," James said.
The duct tape and the plastic were to cover windows and doors in response to chemical or biological attacks. The plastic might do some good on that but for how long, and would it protect against everything? These are part of the unknown that James was apprehensive about when people asked for his advice. Some just called and asked what they needed as if the government had put out a list.
"You're buying things that you don't know what," he said.
Back in the paint department, the "N95" mask was the big item. Mike Overman, who manages the paint department, thought the N95 was a good idea but wasn't sure about the duct tape and plastic. The N95 is a mask made by 3M that "will filter out 95 percent of any airborne particulates. That's not a bad idea for particulates like Anthrax," Overman said.
He had one left, which was kept behind the counter.
"We had a run on them this morning," he said.
AT THE FAIRFAX County Police Department public information office, Sgt. Jeff Gossett noted that any type of terror threat would be handled by all the agencies in the county. There is an element of unknown that goes with that as well.
"We're working with other agencies to develop response plans," he said, but response to what is the unknown. They did not develop an overall response for people asking particulars on how they could prepare themselves.
"We would refer them to the release that the Department of Homeland Security put out," he said.
At the site, there is an introductory letter from Joe M. Allbaugh, Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as an introduction to a 100-page directive.
"Are You Ready? A Guide to Citizen Preparedness provides practical information on how your family can prepare for any disaster," the letter stated.
The introduction stated "one of the primary mandates of the Department of Homeland Security is to educate the public, on a continuing basis, about how to be prepared in case of an emergency--including a possible terrorist attack. Take some time to stay informed about how to react to even unlikely scenarios."
Duct tape and plastic sheeting was included under one of the sections on "What You Can Do," but wasn't that specific.
Lee Barclay wasn't taking any chances. In addition to stocking up on hardware items, she relocated to Manassas since 9/11 and is considering taking her children out of school.
"Major, major changes in our lives. I was already worried," she said.
School board member Christian Braunlich put out a directive as well, stating "Fairfax County Public Schools works in close collaboration with local, state and federal health, safety and emergency personnel to develop and maintain plans for coping with a variety of emergency response situations. These plans involve efforts to protect all students while they are at school." Then Braunlich's letter directs readers to the FCPS Emergency Preparedness and Support Web site: http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/DOC/support/.