In Attendance for Risk Management: Barry Scott, Kendall Banks, Erin Rymsa, Keith Freeman; For the Union: Jerry Roseman, Industrial Hygienist; Kathy Black, DC47 Health & Safety Director

This meeting was convened to discuss two emergency events at the MSB Building the week of April 6, 2009. In the first instance, an actual fire occurred, and the results of the investigation so far are reported below. The second instance was a false alarm. Dust created by the work of carpenters set off a smoke alarm. No true emergency occurred. The response in both cases was somewhat chaotic.

Summary of April 6 event

The first event occurred on the 16th floor in a utility closet between the SW stairwell and the bank of elevators. An open flame (source unknown) ignited flammable material in the closet and scorched the wall and ceiling before being extinguished by the sprinkler in the room. The Fire Department responded immediately and eventually cut off the main water valve. However, by the time the water was shut off, significant water had infiltrated the elevator shafts, the stairwell, and to a lesser extent, the hallway and one conference room (Room Y). All impacted carpeting has been replaced.

Pre-recorded announcements were broadcast throughout the building with instructions for tenants. The floors flanking the 16th were asked to move to the fire stairwell. Everyone else in the building was told there was an emergency in the building, but that they were to stay at their workstations, stay calm and alert, and wait for further instructions. These recordings are approved by the Fire Department and are in accordance with their recommended fire procedures. The announcements are made in cycles of three every few minutes. No one was instructed to exit the building.

The preceding was all as it should be. The response was, as usual, something else. Many people either smelled smoke or saw water and made their own decision to evacuate. According to some reports, fire captains on lower floors were seen to leave the worksite without giving instruction to others. Once people were seen congregating outside, the building gradually emptied. This is much the pattern we’ve seen in past emergencies, especially in the triplex. By 3:30 or so, people were permitted to go back into the building in an orderly fashion to retrieve their personal belongings and then go home.

We spent the rest of the meeting discussing how we can improve the response to emergencies by building tenants to conform more with the procedures in place which have been approved by the Philadelphia Fire Department.

Problems and Recommendations

1. Fire Captains – Risk is in the process of updating the Fire Captain list for the triplex and CJC and recruiting new volunteers. The list is woefully out of date, as it includes names of retirees and others who have stepped down. If inadequate numbers volunteer, management people will be appointed.
   
2. Fire Captain Training – No trainings have been held since 2006. We all agreed this is unacceptable. Training must be held at least annually. As soon as the roster is filled, new trainings will be scheduled. As people are added to the list, interim trainings will be held.
   
   Jerry and I argued for regular meetings of the fire captains throughout the year, at least every other month. Without more routine communication and interaction, fire captains will forget the procedures and will become disengaged from the whole process. Meetings could be used to share new information; receive presentations from the Fire Department; incorporate new members; update lists of disabled employees; refresh memories. Risk did not disagree that this was a good idea but stopped short of agreeing to it.
   
3. Communications - Much of the communication during a fire or other emergency is dictated by the Philadelphia Fire Department. However, Risk thinks “after the event” communication could be greatly improved. Also, there is some tension between the facilities management company employees and City employees. No one holds ownership of the responsibility of communicating with tenants beyond the automated messages. Tenants should receive communication after these events, letting them know what happened and what will be done in the future to insure a smoother process.
   
   The emergency procedures also need to be communicated more effectively to employees. Currently, they are posted on bulletin boards on every floor and are periodically sent out to employees.
   
4. Procedural Gaps – No “mustering” spots are set outside the buildings for people to meet in the event of an evacuation. Mustering places assure that people can be accounted for by fire captains, so the Fire Department can be alerted if people are missing. Most emergencies do not require evacuation, and in fact, tenants are instructed to remain in fire towers and not evacuate in most circumstances. This procedure is set because more people are likely to be injured while evacuating down the fire towers than if they stay put. The fire towers are constructed to withstand heat and smoke for many hours. Evacuation is only called for during a more calamitous event, and is authorized by the Philadelphia Fire Department. Setting mustering locations outside the four buildings will become part of revised emergency procedures and training.
   
5. Fire Drills – There was general agreement that more fire drills should be held to give people more opportunities to practice the procedures and commit them to memory. Risk is considering doing more elaborate and varied drills, including those that include limited evacuations. The Prevention Unit of the Fire Department has told Risk that an obstacle to compliance with these procedures is people’s relative complacency about fire as a real possibility. People these days tend to believe that high rise buildings are safe from fire, due to sprinklers and modern building materials, and they do not feel at risk. Hence, participation in fire drills is spotty. More sophisticated drills and more emphasis on fire captains, training and routine communication can help change this.
   
6. Role of Health & Safety Committees - The Union suggested that these issues become topics for department health and safety committees. Committees can assist in recruiting fire captains, and can help disseminate emergency procedures. They too may benefit from training. Erin also mentioned that the sergeant in the Fire Prevention unit at the PFD gives very good presentations and offered to come to any meetings they wish. This would be especially helpful for committees in the high rises.
   
7. Leased high rise building space – We discussed particular concerns for City workers at the Curtis Center, 1101 Market Street, 123 S. Broad Street, and other locations where the building owner or management company controls fire and emergency procedures. While the City is still responsible for recruiting and training fire captains, they have had difficulty getting the building managers to release procedures to them. These procedures must be approved by and filed with the PFD, so Risk will try to obtain them from the Fire Dept.