Trotter hopes to get the word out with fire safety brochures; a Chicago-specific DVD, and partnerships with high-rise building organizations and property managers. They include: Draper and Kramer; Sudler Property Management; Habitat Condominiums; the Chicago Association of Realtors; the Apartment Building Owners & Managers, and the Chicagoland Apartment Association, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The campaign will use the acronym CALM to let people know what to do in the event of a fire: Call 911; alert building management/security; listen for firefighter instructions and move to safety or stay in place if not in immediate danger.
New equipment will be used to bolster firefighting sharply criticized in the October 2003 fire that killed six people at 69 W. Washington when stairway doors locked behind fleeing victims and there was a 90-minute gap between the time firefighters arrived on the scene and the time the bodies were found.
The equipment includes: Six new fire engines equipped with three-stage pumps and foam capacity; a mobile ventilator to clear toxic and harmful smoke; and a new light wagon. High-rise training and firefighting techniques have been revamped since the Cook County Administration Building fire.
Beginning Wednesday, Trotter is hosting a Navy Pier conference on high-rise fire safety that's expected to draw fire officials and building owners from around the world.
