The Philadelphia Department of Prisons is currently replacing the HVAC system serving the female housing units at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center (PICC). The planned capital project requires the system to be temporarily shut down while the replacement work is completed.
PDP recognizes the impact this temporary outage may have on residents and staff and is taking steps to monitor conditions and provide relief while the work is underway.
Temperatures are being monitored regularly throughout the affected housing units. As of today, no dayroom or cell temperature reading has exceeded 78 degrees. PDP’s medical team is also monitoring residents and has not identified an increase in heat-related medical calls among the affected population.
Additional measures include:
- Large floor fans on each affected housing unit to increase air circulation.
- Continuous access to pitchers of ice water.
- Increased out-of-cell time.
- Access to showers as needed.
The HVAC replacement was scheduled for this period to avoid completing the work during the hottest part of the summer or during colder weather when heating would be required.
PDP will continue monitoring temperatures and resident health throughout the project and will adjust its response as conditions warrant.
