The phone rings. The caller on the other end says, matter-of-factly, that there is a bomb in the building.

Even if 99 percent of the time these types of threats are nothing more than attention-starved hoaxers seeking to disrupt things, each and every case must be treated as being deadly serious.

And that is exactly what the Fairland School District, the Rome Township Volunteer Fire Department and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office did earlier this week when a bomb scare forced a temporary evacuation of the school and a thorough search of the building.

We applaud all those involved for taking this threat seriously and ensuring that the safety of the district’s students was the top priority.

Students were taken to a nearby building so that they could be safe and dry while the search was conducted.

Although no number showed up on the school’s caller ID, the LCSO is working with the telephone company to trace the call and determine the identity of the prankster who pulled a “joke” that should be considered anything but funny.

This may seem like a laughing matter to some but it is certainly is not. This single phone call wasted hundreds of tax dollars for emergency personnel, distracted our volunteer firefighters and hindered the education of these students.

School officials said they plan to pursue prosecution of this individual when caught to the fullest extent of the law, as they should.

We can all be thankful that this was nothing more than a scare and a hoax, but we may not be so fortunate next time.

The important thing is that everyone treats any emergency situation as if it was the real thing, every time.