Daley Park neighborhood practices evacuation

Contact: Tom Abbott

Battalion Chief, Tempe Fire Department

Telephone: 480/858-7219



Daley Park neighborhood practices evacuation



TEMPE, Ariz. - The Tempe Fire and Police Departments will conduct an
evacuation drill of Daley Park neighborhood at approximately 9 a.m. on Oct.
2. This is the first voluntary neighborhood evacuation of this magnitude in
Arizona. A simulated chemical spill at Hardy Drive and Broadway Road will
initiate the exercise. Residents will be directed to the McKemy Middle
School, 2250 S. College Avenue. The drill's purpose is to assess the speed
and orderliness of a citizen evacuation.



This voluntary exercise will begin with a recorded telephone call from the
Tempe Police Department's Community Emergency Notification System (CENS)
targeting all 192 households, which have been provided with door hangers to
indicate whether or not the residents will participate. When the phone calls
are completed, Tempe police officers and Community Emergency Response Team
(CERT) volunteers will go to all "Yes, I will participate" households,
telling them to evacuate. These individuals can then drive or take a bus to
the McKemy site.



Participants in the drill include: the Tempe Fire Department; Tempe Police
Department; Mesa Fire Department; Maricopa County Department of Emergency
Management; Local Emergency Planning Committee; American Red Cross; and
Arizona Emergency Response Commission. In addition, community businesses,
Safeway, United Dairymen of Arizona and Starbucks will participate. Some
participants will staff informational centers at the McKemy school site. At
approximately 11 a.m., residents can return to their homes.

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