The student will take the role of a News Editor at WMMR-FM, an adult contemporary (AC) music station in Philadelphia. On reporting to work at 6:00 am you are presented with the following information:

1. At 4:03 am Engine Co. #4 of the Philadelphia Fire Dept. received an alarm from an automatic sensor at the Barton Oil Company (BOCO) refinery located on the Delaware River just north of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge.

2. At 4:16 am Engine Co. #4 reports from the scene that two large chemical storage tanks are engulfed in flames and requests assistance from three other fire stations.

3. At 4:32 am Assistant Fire Chief, John Walters, requests assistance from the PA Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) team stationed in Philadelphia. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was also notified of a possible environmental hazard.

4. At 5:07 am the State Police close I-95 between exits 21 and 23 and close the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. Low visibility due to heavy smoke is cited as the reason for this action. Traffic from New Jersey is diverted to the Betsy Ross Bridge.

5. At 5:32 am Jane Blackwell, Director of Press Relation for the BOCO plant, tells a WCAU-TV reporter that the contents of the two storage tanks are non-toxic and that the EPA has evaluated the danger from the smoke as "minimal."

6. Several Philadelphia TV stations have news crews on-site, but are giving conflicting reports of the seriousness of the situation. They are hampered by severe traffic congestion on the ground from fire fighting equipment and a strict ban on helicopters in the area imposed by the State Police.

Part 2, TV.

The student will now take the role of a news anchor for WCAU-TV, channel 10 (NBC affiliate). Note that you have access to all of the information above including tape of the 5:32 am interview with Jane Blackwell. You also have the following additional information:

1. At 9:30 am Assistant Fire Chief, John Walters, calls a press conference and on-camera says the following- "Since 4:16 this morning units of the Philadelphia Fire Dept. have been battling a chemical fire at the BOCO refinery. At this time we believe we have the fire contained, but expect it to take several more hours to fully extinguish. The smoke is so thick that all of our personnel are using protective masks, however Jeff Bowers of the EPA has been conducting extensive tests and has evaluated the risk from exposure to the smoke as minimal."

2. On-camera we have footage of Ch. 10 Reporter, Cliff Jones, asking Jeff Bowers the following question- "We are with Jeff Bowers, Area Representative of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Bowers, how do you assess the risk to area residents from this fire?"

3. On-camera we have footage of Jeff Bowers answering as follows- "We have done extensive tests and found no traces of anything unusually toxic in the smoke. We are fortunate that there is a moderate wind from the south-east, which is rapidly dispersing the smoke, mostly over the Delaware River. Residents on the New Jersey side of the river, north of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge should probably stay indoors to avoid eye or throat irritation."

4. At 9:45 am the State Police reported that they expected to be able to open I-95 to reduced traffic at 2:00 pm. They hoped to re-open the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge by 4:00 pm, but promised more information on that after a press conference scheduled by the Fire Dept. for 2:00 pm.

5. Cliff Jones is editing a package (which he will voice) on the status of the fire as of 9:30 am. It will contain some of the sound bites above and use a variety of B-roll of the fire at different stages.

Note: This assignment should be submitted with a cover sheet containing your name, the class, the assignment and the date, followed by three (3) additional pages containing:

1. radio reader
2. TV package intro
3. TV package outro and update

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