Shuttered firehouse open for debate

AARON LEO aleo@ctpost.com
Article Last Updated: 02/22/2008 01:23:07 AM EST

BRIDGEPORT — Former and current firefighters and local parents had mixed reactions Thursday to the city's handling of the emergency closure of the Ocean Terrace fire station last year, at a hearing down the street at Longfellow School that got emotional at times.

Following the closure in early December for emergency repairs, a couple and their infant son died from smoke inhalation when a fire of unknown origin broke out Dec. 7 in their home nearby on Fairfield Avenue. Firefighters from the closed station had to come from the Wood Avenue fire station, 1.7 miles away. The response time was seven minutes, more than the department's stated goal of four minutes or less.

More than 40 people, including city officials, attended the meeting, held under a city ordinance requiring a public City Council hearing before a fire station is closed.

Two of the speakers, who represent black and Hispanic firefighters in the Fire Department, blasted the city and Fire Chief Brian Rooney for the handling of repairs to the station that started the turn of events leading to the fatal fire and the increased response time.

"Fire grows 100 percent every 30 to 60 seconds," said Ronald Morales, a city fire inspector and president of the Bridgeport Hispanic Firefighters Association. "You got two boys without parents forever," he said.

But Rooney has said the fire was so intense and fast-moving that it isn't clear if the family would have survived had the two firefighter companies, Engine 7 and Ladder 11, been in the firehouse, nicknamed "7-11."

About a month after the fire, the city rented a trailer to house the Engine 7 company, while its Ladder 11 stayed on Wood Avenue. Repairs, which could cost up to $1.2 million, are expected to be finished next month. The station was closed because the land on which it sits had settled 18 to 24 inches since it was constructed in 1970. This, in turn, has led to a host of other problems, including breaking the sewer and water pipes under the structure.

Rooney has said no one knew how bad the damage was at first, but little problems, mostly involving drainage, were fixed over the years.

Ronald Mackey, a retired lieutenant and president of the Firebird Society of Bridgeport, and Morales both said complete repairs to the firehouse should have been made earlier and backup plans set in place. The station, in the West End neighborhood, is the closest to the West End and Black Rock neighborhoods.

Both Morales and Mackey are longtime critics of Rooney. Also, since at least late last year and before the fire, Rooney has been investigating Morales for alleged departmental violations and could fire him.

Two current firefighters also stepped forward during the hearing.

Kyle Gardiner, who recently was promoted to captain in charge of the 7-11 house, said the Fairfield Avenue family died because they didn't have smoke detectors. Rooney later said that detail is still under investigation.

The fire would have been deadly even if firefighters were "around the corner," Gardiner said.

"If these people had a smoke detector, they would be alive today," the captain said.

He added that even if the fire station had been open, the companies could have been on another call and may have still had an increased response time.

Earlier in the hearing, Firefighter Tim Landock, a Black Rock resident who worked in the firehouse early in his 18-year career, was mad that city residents were not notified of the closure.

"Nobody knew it was closed," he said.

The father of three added that the house was always in bad shape.

"I came 18 years ago, I can't believe the way it looked," he said.

The trailer, where firefighters have been living since early January, is no better, said Firefighter Robert Whitbread, president of the Bridgeport Fire Fighters Association Local 834.

He added that the station will need to be cleaned after the construction ends, because areas not under construction are also "filthy," he said.

"It needs a head-to-toe cleaning," he said.

The lease on the trailer expires in two months, he added.

He and other speakers said the city needs a better maintenance program.

Mayor Bill Finch agreed. There are hundreds of city-maintained buildings, he said.

"Facilities in this city clearly need to be reviewed," Finch said.

Meanwhile, City Councilman Robert Walsh, D-132, blasted Rooney's policy of a 25-mph speed limit for firetrucks.

The limit is for safety reasons, Rooney said.

"These are cranes that weigh tons," he said, adding that response times are still less than five minutes with the limit.

Rooney cited two incidents in the Waterbury Fire Department where speed and/or mechanical failure contributed to accidents, one fatal.

Tragedies might be avoided with more stations and personnel, but that means more funding, Rooney said.

"As a fire chief, I'd like to have a firehouse on every corner," he said. But the city has closed six companies in his 37 years with the department and is trying to close a municipal budget deficit.

One cost-cutting measure is almost ready to go. A class of 26 rookie firefighters is slated to graduate in April, bringing the department to 330, close to a full complement, Rooney said.

The rookies will reduce the department's overtime costs, he said.