BONNERS FERRY — A bomb threat written on the wall of a boys restroom at Bonners Ferry High School March 22 forced the evacuation of the school and a major activation of the Boundary County emergency operations plan.

The incident began at about 11:45 a.m. Monday when a student went into the hall and informed the Bonners Ferry Police Department’s student resource officer that someone had written a bomb threat indicating that TNT would detonate at noon.

“That didn’t give us much time,” assistant Bonners Ferry Police Chief Joel Minor said. “Things had to move pretty quickly.”

To effect the quickest evacuation possible, the school fire alarm was sounded and students and staff were immediately sent to the grounds of the junior high school to put them out of harm’s way should the threat have proven real.

In the meantime, all available police officers , sheriff’s deputies and  the Bonners Ferry Fire Department were called in, while Boundary Volunteer Ambulance was dispatched to have all available units standing by.

Police set up an emergency command post and called in Emergency Services director Dave Kramer and incident commander Bob Graham in to coordinate the response.

Law enforcement personnel, accompanied by principal Curt Bayer, vice-principal Ted Reynolds and maintenance supervisor Jim Bace, hand searched every classroom, locker and restroom while fire engines surrounded the building, hooked up and laid out their hoses and equipment, ready to respond in case the worst happened.

Likewise, EMTs had ambulances staged and equipment laid out and ready, ready to roll if needed.

After a full search, no explosives were found, and emergency service providers were given the order to stand down at 2 p.m., students and staff were allowed to return to the school and to the lunch they’d missed.

“It might seem like overkill, but in a situation like this, you can’t afford not to do it,” Minor said. “You can’t assume a threat isn’t real.”

In all, more than 35 emergency services personnel from multiple agencies responded, most of them volunteers who dropped everything to be there.

Minor had particular praise for school administrators, how quickly they acted to the reported threat as well as their willingness to potentially put themselves at risk to assist officers in the search for the reported bomb.

“They did an outstanding job, both at the outset and during the search,” he said. “All those fire drills and emergency procedures they practiced for years came in handy.”

Investigation into the incident is ongoing, and if the culprit is found, felony charges and a hefty sentence could be pending. Under Idaho Code, those found guilty of falsely reporting explosives in public or private places can face up to five years in the state penitentiary.