THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 28, 1995 TAG: 9507270147
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Another View
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
A letter to the editor in the July 22 Clipper concerning fire and police response to a fire in Las Gaviotas and the location of the Great Bridge fire station was misleading and contained several inaccuracies.
I believe it is important that I set the record straight and, more importantly, to provide the citizens with the facts concerning the level of fire protection they now enjoy.
The Great Bridge Fire Station is located on Hanbury Road, close to the Johnstown Road intersection. This location places it in the center of its response area, rather than in the extreme northern portion as was the former location next to the Great Bridge Bridge.
While I understand the perspective of those individuals who lie close to the former station location, the new location affords all citizens in the response area with the best possible response times.
The letter also stated, ``It took an additional 11 minutes for the Great Bridge Fire station to arrive.'' This is inaccurate. In order to determine precise response times for this incident, the fire radio channel voice recording from June 19 was examined. This recording indicated Engine 5 (Great Bridge) took six minutes and 40 seconds to arrive on the fire scene. Additional fire, police and emergency medical units arrived, and quick, effective action was taken to mitigate this emergency. This review concluded that fire units were on the scene within an acceptable response time, given the location of the incident in relation to the Great Bridge and Deep Creek fire stations.
When police and fire units arrived on the fire scene, fire had already broken out to the exterior of the structure and the interior was charged with fire and smoke. In such conditions, it is critically important not to introduce fresh air into the structure before firefighters are ready to enter with hose lines to undertake aggressive suppression efforts. If fresh air is introduced, a violent explosion is possible or, at the very least, this fresh air quickly extends and increases the magnitude of the fire to previously unburned areas of the structure. Such fire extension hampers rescue efforts of people and pets alike.
As a fellow pet owner, I sympathize with the situation whereby the family cat was trapped inside this structure. Most pet owners consider pets as members of the family, as do I. However, given the risk and the possibility of making the situation worse, the police officer acted appropriately by not opening the door. In fact, not opening the door could very well have been the reason why the pet ultimately survived! The cat certainly would not have survived an explosion or violent fire extension.
Also, according to the letter, the police officer prevented neighbors from entering the burning building. In my experience, re-entering a building on fire to retrieve valuables and/or pets is a major cause of fire deaths. Emergency responders are trained not to allow re-entry.
Good, efficient fire protection is possible only through the hard work and dedication of citizens, fire personnel, city management and elected officials working together. This team approach is alive and well in Chesapeake. Firefighters, paramedics and police personnel take their jobs very seriously and continually strive to respond to emergencies in an expedient and effective manner. Many, many lives have been save - including pets - by their heroic actions. Also, city management and city council members, present and past, have been very responsive to the need for increased fire protection. In fact, the Capital Improvement Budget includes a fire station to be constructed in the Cedar Road/Dominion Boulevard area, which will provide an even higher level of emergency service to the Las Gaviotas area.
I appreciate this opportunity to provide this information and hope this clears up any misunderstanding anyone may have about fire protection in this area. I am proud of the job our fire, Emergency Medical Service and police personnel do.
Michael L. Bolac
Fire Chief
City of Chesapeake by CNB