Safety officials finalize plan for July 4th weekend festivities

CENTER CITY (WPVI) -- Philadelphia public safety administrators met Wednesday to finalize their strategy for the Fourth of July festivities on the Parkway.

What they have planned fits into a much bigger matrix that will be applied to the pope's visit in September.

"We'll be practicing a couple of things at this event, getting ready for the pope event - but we do that all the time," said Everett Gillison, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety.

Philadelphia is gaining international recognition for its ability to pull off big events like Wawa Welcome America and Made in America.

Most of the public safety professionals in this room have worked together for years perfecting and adapting.

This year the Fourth of July arrives with a non-specific terror threat bulletin from Homeland Security.

Law enforcement is extra vigilant.

"We have our people, we have federal assistance, so there will be a lot of people out there paying attention. Some things you'll see. A lot you won't see," said Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.

The Philadelphia Fire Department will be working with law enforcement to keep the crowds safe.

That even includes monitoring the air.

"We'll be partnering with the police to have a joint hazards assessment team, and those teams will monitor things and take readings and make sure the situation is safe," said Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer.

Emergency medical tents will be set up and fire department personnel will be patrolling the crowd looking for signs of distress.

The city is preparing for any possibility, including what to do about drones that might be flown over the Parkway.

And, if you go, be prepared to cooperate with security.

"Be prepared to travel as light as you can, but also understand that if you want to bring coolers and things like that, they will be checked," said Commissioner Ramsey.

Big events like this are a practice run for the next, like the pope's visit in September and the Democratic National Convention next summer.

Every event is followed by a post event debriefing to learn from mistakes and fine tune things for the next crowd.