Discovery Hostage Crisis Shows Why Emergency Planning is Smart and Necessary

In the aftermath of eco-extremist James Lee's hostage taking at the Maryland-based headquarters of the Discovery Channel on Wednesday, Washington Business Journal offers some sage advice.

Workplace experts say the hostage crisis at Discovery Communications Inc. in Silver Spring should prompt all companies and building owners to review their emergency evacuation and continuity of operation plans — or, if they don’t have a plan, to make one.

Authorities praised Discovery for the way it handled the crisis and its evacuation plan, which was implemented after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and is updated annually. James J. Lee entered the public lobby at the company’s headquarters waving a gun and took three employees hostage. He was killed, and none of the hostages was harmed.

The piece written by Jennifer Nycz-Conner goes on to list five tips from workplace experts about emergency plans and documenting threats.

Discovery spokesman David Leavy told the Journal that the building aced the planning and execution of their emergency plan.

“We executed our emergency plan flawlessly,” he said. “Employees were notified. They exited the building, everyone’s accounted for, everyone’s safe and sound, and we’re very, very thankful for that.”