By Jeff Morganteen
Advocate Staff Writer
Posted: 11/21/2008 02:58:27 AM EST
Report blasts volunteer firefighters - Topix
STAMFORD - A consultant hired by the city to investigate the response to an Oct. 4 house fire in North Stamford criticized volunteer departments Thursday for failing to call for backup sooner and failing to establish a command post.
An analyst for Tri-Data Fire & Emergency Services Consulting of Arlington, Va., relayed his report by speaker phone at a meeting of the Public Health and Safety Committee of the Board of Representatives.
"The majority of things that went wrong with this incident went wrong in the first 25 minutes," analyst Joseph Ockershausen said.
City fire officials, the public safety director and four chiefs from the Big Five volunteer departments attended the meeting at the government center as career firefighters from Stamford Fire & Rescue sat in the spectator area and stood along the walls.
An out-of-control chimney fire gutted a $2.4 million home at 117 Mill Spring Lane, causing more than $1 million in damages and displacing the occupants. Afterward, city officials questioned the response by Long Ridge Fire Company, a volunteer department that employs career firefighters whose salaries are paid by Stamford taxpayers.
The first 25 minutes of the response was marred by confusion and a lack of leadership, Ockershausen said. It took 21 minutes for a city fire engine to establish a reliable water supply, far too long, he said.
Because only three firefighters responded initially and two entered the burning house, Occupational Safety and Health Administration laws were violated, Ockershausen said. OSHA regulations call for two firefighters to wait outside for every two that enter.
"If they got trapped or the fire went up behind them, there was no one to go in there after them," he said. "What they did here was not only contrary to fire ground rules, they also showed poor judgment, and I hate to say that."
According to 911 tapes, a driver from the Long Ridge volunteer department requested assistance from city fire departments because only three Long Ridge firefighters had arrived 12 minutes into the fire.
It wasn't until later that a Turn of River deputy chief assumed command of the scene, Ockershausen said.
Firefighters failed to use the designated ground channel on the radio, which hindered communication, the analyst said.
William Callion, director of Public Safety, Health & Welfare, hired the consulting firm, citing the tense relationship between the city and the volunteer fire departments.
Last year, the city announced a consolidation plan that would merge three volunteer departments with Stamford Fire & Rescue. One department agreed to the plan.
The 911 tapes of the fire were played during at the meeting. Committee Chairman Richard Lyons, D-1, questioned Long Ridge Chief Robert Bennett what went right with the response and what could have been improved.
"I, of course, would've liked to have more men," Bennett said. "I can't deny that."
The department has struggled since the city laid off career firefighters at Turn of River who traditionally assisted Long Ridge, he said. Budget cuts and a lack of volunteers also have taken a toll, Bennett said.
In June, Bennett canceled a pact with the city that allowed career firefighters to automatically back up Long Ridge volunteers on calls. The agreement was reinstated this month.
If it had been in place during the Mill Spring Lane fire, the outcome could have been better, the analyst said.
The meeting was to review only the Mill Spring Lane fire, but city Rep. Joseph Coppola, R-15, a former volunteer Belltown Fire Department chief, took the opportunity to criticize the city's proposed merger.
"This was certainly a terrible experience," Coppola said. "This is simply the result of a plan that was put into place without planning."