"Fire is everyone's fight" is the fire department's motto — and they're working to put that into action by recruiting block captains.
"It's very important," said Brian Anderson, a Philadelphia firefighter. "It's vital for us to keep in the communities, and the outreach with our unit here in the fire department, to keep in contact and a close relationship with the community in which we serve."
Anderson says in the fall and winter months, captains can help educate people on fire safety like not plugging space heaters into extension cords, or leaving space between those heaters and other items that can catch on fire.
He adds, those captains also make sure the department gets residents a basic fire fighting tool "for those that don't have smoke detectors hooked into the 311 system, so we can get out and get the smoke detectors installed."
The Philadelphia Streets Department has more information on becoming a block captain.