Jeff Morganteen, Staff Writer
Published: 11:27 p.m., Wednesday, May 12, 2010
STAMFORD -- City officials will review the response to a fire that tore through a large home in North Stamford this week, leaving questions about a Long Ridge Fire Co. assistant chief's decision to cancel automatic aid before he arrived.
Mayor Michael Pavia, meanwhile, said the controversy underscores the need for a unified fire service in North Stamford, where firefighting duties are split among two volunteer-run departments and a handful of city fire engines housed in temporary stations. Hours after the Monday night fire was put out, the professional firefighters' union criticized Long Ridge for canceling automatic aid and asked for an investigation.
"Everyone is aware of the fire company problems that we have been hampered by for the past decade and everyone agrees they need to be resolved," Pavia said in a statement. "I will be introducing a plan to resolve this longstanding fire company situation very shortly and we will standardize and inspire a new level of emergency response to all Stamford residents."
Ralph Nau, the Long Ridge Fire Co. assistant chief who canceled the automatic aid units, according to dispatch records, said he had no comment when reached at his home Wednesday evening.
Dispatch records show the assistant chief canceled automatic aid from Stamford Fire & Rescue engines and the Turn of River Fire Department as they began responding to the fire from a training drill at the Turn of River Road station.
An alarm company reported the fire at 8:50 p.m. Monday. Three minutes later, the Long Ridge assistant chief canceled all responding units except for Long Ridge. At 8:57 p.m., the first Long Ridge unit arrived and reported the roof was on fire. That's when Turn of River units and city engines were called back to assist Long Ridge, arriving nearly 19 minutes after the first report.
City Rep. Annie Selkovits Taylor, R-19, said she stopped by the Long Ridge Fire Co. to hear for herself what happened. She said Long Ridge did not intend to turn back Turn of River's units, calling it a misinterpretation.
"I don't know what the mayor's plan will be, but for what we have now, it underscores that there needs to be better communication between the parties," Taylor said.
City Rep. Scott Mirkin, R-13, one of the chairs of the Board of Representatives' Public Safety Committee, said he asked the committee to review the incident at its June meeting, since it is too late to place it on this month's agenda. The goal will be to see whether the canceling of automatic aid before arriving at a scene is a breach of protocol, he said.
"At the very least, there seems to be a significant misunderstanding," Mirkin said. "I don't know what the protocol is, but I have been told by some sources that you don't call off backup until you get to the scene."
Staff Writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or 203-964-2215.
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