LEWISTON – A Lisbon Road financial office building was evacuated Thursday afternoon after an unidentified person reported there was a bomb inside it.

More than 200 workers from Liberty Mutual and CitiStreet cleared out of the building at about 2 p.m. as police and fire crews responded to the threat.

Lewiston and Maine State Police searched the building with the help of a bomb-sniffing dog.

“A person called in and indicated there were explosives in the building,” said Lewiston police Sgt. David St. Pierre. “We’re taking all precautions.”

More than four hours after the threat was received, the building was declared safe. By then, most of the employees had been sent home for the day.

The voice that phoned in the threat was male, St. Pierre said.

While rescue crews searched the building, employees from the two financial companies huddled in the parking lot or sprawled out on the grass. Most of the Liberty Mutual employees were sent home for the day soon after the threat was received.

Managers from both Liberty Mutual and CitiStreet said they were not allowed to speak to the press about the matter or to provide details about the exact number of employees inside the building. All questions were directed to Liberty Mutual headquarters in Massachusetts.

Police were continuing to investigate the source of the bomb threat Thursday night. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to phone Lewiston police at 784-6421.

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