Chester firefighters have an early warning system to tell them if a vacant building is too structurally dangerous to enter, writes Madeleine Wright and Rory Hardenstine for CBS News Philadelphia.
Placards will now mark vacant and structurally compromised buildings so firefighters will be alerted to potential dangers inside.
It’s an initiative paid for with a $50,0000 FEMA grant, and it’s the first program of its kind in Delaware County.
“Throughout the city, we have some dilapidated buildings,” Battalion Chief Jon Ley from the Chester Bureau of Fire said. “The city is old. A lot of legacy construction.”
The placards are synced with a real-time digital map so crews can learn about the current condition of the vacant building while en route to the scene.
By maintaining an updated building database, first responders will know if a structure’s been repaired or if it’s deteriorated further.
That lets the firefighters know how to approach the fire.
It could mean fighting fires from the outside instead of entering the unstable structure.
The placard idea came after a 2022 fire on Baker Street. Three firefighters were injured while entering the building. One was seriously hurt after he fell through a hole in the floor.
Find out more about this innovative firefighting tool at CBS News Philadelphia.
