Emergency team sets up shop at shopping mall

SCOTT WYLAND, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- The old Lamonts store is teeming with activity -- but not from a new retailer.

It's become the headquarters for federal and state agencies offering aid to earthquake victims.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has set up a six-county disaster field office in the 56,600-square-foot space at the Westfield Shoppingtown Capital Mall.

Eventually, it will house about 300 workers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Small Business Administration, as well as the state Ecology and Transportation departments.

"We're beefing up as we go into the next couple days," FEMA spokesman Eugene Brezany said.

However, Brezany said he doubts that the agency will hire anyone locally to tend the phones.

Last week, Capital Mall manager Jim Boyde invited FEMA to tour the site after hearing that FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh was seeking a 50,000-square-foot space for the field office.

Because the mall is in the state capital, FEMA can run the office close to the state Emergency Management Division, Brezany said.

"Our (state) counterpart is really the lead," he said. "We're here to support the state."

What's more, the space has plenty of phone and computer outlets that were installed for the department store, Brezany said.

The agency has worked from far more primitive settings, such as a store in Louisiana built in 1850, Brezany said. Compared to that, "this complex is pretty up to speed."

FEMA has signed a five-month lease at reduced rent, Boyde said. "It's a minuscule fraction of what a real store would pay," he said. "It's a community service for us."

Rumors have circulated for months that Meier & Frank is aiming to open an apparel store in the vacant space. But officials from Meier & Frank and Westfield have declined to address the rumors.

Boyde said having 300 people working in the mall might boost sales at the food court and other retail outlets.

But the impact is likely to be minimal, given that about 9,000 people browse through the mall every day, he said.

Scott Wyland is a business reporter for The Olympian. He can be reached at 357-0748 or scottolympian@yahoo.com.

On the web:

Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Whom to call

FEMA's toll-free number is (800) 462-9029. People with speech or hearing im-pairments can call a TTY line at (800) 462-7585.

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