Letter to PDE and PVSD Regulations re Fire Drills 8-2008.pdf

Perkiomen Valley School District
Three Iron Bridge Drive
Collegeville, PA 19426
Clifford L. Rogers, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Phone: 610-489-8506 x1101
email: crogers@pvsd.org
Barbara Nelson, Chief August 22, 2008
Division of Subsidy & Administration
People Transportation Section
PA Department of Education
333 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
Re:
Perkiomen Valley School District - Fire Drills
Dear Ms. Nelson:
Pursuant to my recent discussion with Kathy L. Tendler, Child Accounting Specialist,
please find enclosed a copy of a corrective action plan which has been developed and
implemented by the Perkiomen Valley School District to assure the conduct of regular
monthly fire drills in all District school buildings in compliance with Section 15-1517 of
the Public School Code of 1949.
By way of background, subsequent to the execution of PDE-4101, Certification of
Fulfillment of Fire Drill and School Bus Emergency Evacuation Drill Requirements, by
my predecessor, Dr. Edwin D. Coyle, on April 8, 2008, it was discovered that not all
required fire drills had, in fact, been conducted during the prior school year. This matter
was initially reported by the District to your office, and specifically, Ms. Tendler, on May
30, 2008. In response to this initial notification, the District was requested to develop and
implement a corrective action plan to address the problem. The District had already
implemented a temporary corrective action plan two days earlier, on May 28, 2008, in
conjunction with its investigation of the missed fire drills. Since that time, the corrective
action plan has been reviewed and updated to the form which is enclosed.
Please note that our District is committed to the implementation of the enclosed
corrective action plan and full compliance with the requirements of Section 15-1517.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Clifford L. Rogers, Superintendent
Perkiomen Valley School District
Enclosure
cc: Kathy Tendler
Perkiomen Valley School District is an equal opportunity
employment and educational organization.

Perkiomen Valley School District
New monthly FIRE DRILL procedures.
For distribution and implementation August 2008
This plan is for immediate implementation and is proposed as administrative regulation
805b, in support of Board Policy 805, Emergency Evacuation of Schools.
PURPOSE: The Perkiomen Valley School District recognizes that regular monthly fire
drills in all District school buildings are mandated by law and promote the District’s goal
of safeguarding the health and welfare of District students and employees. This plan is
put into place to assure that our students and staff members have practiced emergency
evacuation procedures so that in the event of an emergency in any school, every student,
every staff member, and every visitor can be safely evacuated from the building in an
orderly and responsible manner.
PROCEDURES: Each month while school is in session, September though June, building
principals shall assure that at least one fire drill is conducted in his/her school building in
compliance with these procedures. These drills will be in addition to any other protective
exercises that are practiced in school buildings.
The following contacts shall be made before a drill is conducted:
• The school must telephone the alarm company (number provided)
• The school must telephone the Operations Department (number provided)
Drills shall be further reported as follows. The following information shall be
communicated to the Operations Department by e-mail before the end of the day on the
day the drill was conducted:
• Date and time of the fire drill
• Length of time it took the students to evacuate the building
• Problems and issues to be addressed for improvement
• Weather conditions during the fire drill
RECORDS AND SUPPORT: The Operations Department will assist school building
principals in assuring that drills are conducted.
• Building Principals shall provide advance notice of planned fire drills to the
Operations Department if practical so that the Department can provide support in
assuring that the alarm company is notified in advance.
• The District Operations Department shall be responsible for recording drill events
and shall monitor school building compliance with these requirements. In
addition, the department will record the conduct of other mandated safety drills.
The school buildings must conduct all other mandated drills but may not
substitute any other drills for a fire drill.
• If the Operations Department has not been contacted by the twentieth day of any
month (September through May) or the tenth day of June, regarding the conduct
of the required fire drill for that month, the Operations Department shall notify the
applicable building principal of the need to conduct a fire drill prior to month end.
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• On or before April 5 th of each school year, the Operations Department shall report
to the District Superintendent that all required monthly fire drills and all school
bus emergency evacuation drills were completed through March of such school
year, to facilitate the execution and submission of PDE-4101 – Certification of
Fulfillment of Fire Drill and School Bus Emergency Evacuation Drill
Requirements, by the District Superintendent.
GUIDELINES FOR BUILDINGS: When the alarm sounds, all building occupants shall
evacuate the building, cross over the fire line, and not return to the building until the allclear
is given. Students shall move quickly and quietly to the outside of the building and
take their wraps with them where possible. The teacher shall take his/her roll book with
him/her and check attendance of his/her class in the area in which they have gathered
outside the building. Unassigned teachers and staff members shall help with control.
All required fire drills shall include the complete removal of students and teachers, in an
expeditious and orderly manner, by means of fire escapes and exits from the school
building to a place of safety on the ground outside. Each such drill shall include the
practice and instruction concerning the location, use and operation of emergency exit
doors and fire extinguishers.
Fire drill directions shall be prominently displayed in all rooms and other appropriate
areas of use. The teachers are required to make their students familiar with these
regulations and review exit procedures with them. All doors on stairway enclosures shall
be free to close when not in use and kept closed. The exits from places used by school
students and personnel shall not be blocked, locked or chained during the school day.
Exterior exits shall be kept unlocked from the inside at all times, not blocked or chained
in any way.
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