Philadelphia residents urged to participate in citywide fire drill
PHILADELPHIA - Do you and your family have a plan in place in the event of a fire in the home?
The City of Philadelphia is urging all residents to participate in a citywide fire drill Thursday evening, as part of Fire Prevention Week and in the interest of helping all residents to be safe, should a fire break out in the home.
In a two-tiered process, the Philadelphia Fire Department will stage a simulated fire at a home in the Northeast at 6 p.m. The family, in a home on Richton Road, will use their escape plan, while fire crews respond.
At 7:30 p.m., fire sirens will sound throughout Philadelphia, beginning the citywide fire drill. According to fire officials, in the event of a fire, residents should be able to:
- Know two ways out of each room
- Leave a residence in two minutes
- Establish a family meeting place away from a house
Authorities encourage residents to practice their fire drills, even if they don’t hear sirens. They say all homes should have smoke alarms on every level of a home, including the basement.
Any resident without working smoke detectors should call 311 and the fire department will install them free of charge.