Locked Down: A Hospital's Intercom Incident

Emergency Stairwell Intercom Recording Explains the Night the Hospital Floors Locked

The recording starts with the clack of a door closer and my breath echoing, too loud for a stairwell.

It's 1:34 a.m., badge scanner blinking red on Level B, and the intercom button is already

warm when I press it. Security, a man answers, then a pause,

then the same word again, perfectly timed. I was doing rounds because the elevators

kept skipping floors. In the stairwell, the fluorescent light buzzed, and the intercom

chirped every thirty seconds without being pressed. Each time, the man said Security,

same tone, same half-second delay, like he was waiting for a cue I couldn't