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The Philadelphia Fire Department and Drexel University are teaming up to release the “Philadelphia Fire Department Safety App,” a program giving smartphone users instant access to a wide range of safety and emergency preparedness information. The web-based application, optimized for iOS and Android platforms, will include information about smoke alarms, home escape planning, hospital locations and first aid tips.
This application was created by a partnership between the Philadelphia Fire Department, Drexel’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, Drexel’s Department of Public Safety and the Kal & Lucille Rudman Foundation, which has supported Drexel University and the Philadelphia Fire Department for more than a decade.
The Philadelphia Fire Department Safety App was developed and designed by Drexel web development seniors Darielle Brown-Davis and Jordan Stewart under the supervision of digital media, web development professors Jervis Thompson and Troy Finamore.
“This app will give us an opportunity to impart critical information on a multitude of safety subjects via a popular medium used by thousands of Philadelphians every day,” Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said. “We will gain access to segments of the population that we might not ordinarily come into contact with on a regular basis.”
The web-based app also features a series of information tabs as well as a quick find function. Users can also tune into a live-feed of Philadelphia Fire Department radio. This app can be accessed for free at www.freedomfromfire.com/fsapp.
“This project offered our students an opportunity to use the latest web development and design technologies,” said Thompson, a web development professor in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, who advised the student designers along with Finamore. “We worked alongside Fire Prevention Division staff and Deputy Chief Derrick Sawyer to build a web based app that provides Philadelphians with essential fire safety and prevention information. The best part is this free app is simple to use and available in the palm of your hand.”
“This technology will play a critical role in further reducing the number of deaths and injuries from fire and smoke in Philadelphia,” said Kal Rudman. “We are now offering fingertip access to comprehensive and intensive fire and safety prevention tools for anyone with a mobile device or home computer.”