THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 13, 1996 TAG: 9605110014
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
On March 18, it took nearly 2 minutes for word of a radio call for help from two trapped Chesapeake firefighters to reach other firefighters at the scene.
The reason is that more than a dozen firefighters were talking by radio at the same time, overwhelming the communications system. It operated as well as it is designed to operate, but it is not designed to handle multiple simultaneous transmissions, such as occur in a big fire.
In any other South Hampton Roads city, a message from trapped firefighters likely would have gotten through to other firefighters at the scene immediately, because the other cities have better radio equipment. In Chesapeake, firefighters have only two radio channels to use. In the other cities, firefighters' messages can be transmitted on any of many channels, and priority can be given to calls for help.
The reason Chesapeake firefighters have inferior radio equipment is financial. A new system would cost more than $10 million, said Chesapeake fire Chief Michael L. Bolac. City Council would have to find a way to pay for it.
Clearly, 2 minutes is an unacceptably long time for a radio message to get from trapped firefighters to other firefighters at the scene. Inside a blazing building, 2 minutes is an eternity.
In the case of the March 18 fire, Bolac says, more firefighters would have died than the two trapped inside if the radio message had gotten through immediately. The reason, he said, is that the roof collapsed shortly after the call for help was sent and surely would have killed firefighters who rushed into the building in a rescue operation.
We don't know if the chief is right, but of this we're certain: 2 minutes is an obscenely long time for a radio call for help to reach the fire scene.
Next time, 2 minutes could be the difference between life and death. Firefighters risk their lives for their city and have every right to possess adequate radio equipment.
The fatal fire occurred in an auto-parts store that had a lightweight wood-truss roof. Part of the roof, which supported heavy air-conditioning equipment, collapsed, trapping the two firefighters. They called for help. Then more of the roof collapsed and they burned to death.
The Fire Department now is providing extra training on how to identify and fight fires in buildings with lightweight wood-truss roofs. That's a type of economical construction that uses a minimal amount of wood and has become popular in the past 15 years. A lightweight wood-truss roof on a church at Great Bridge and Dominion boulevards collapsed about three weeks ago. The roof on the auto-parts store first collapsed when the building was under construction. The Fire Department is assessing whether it is too dangerous to enter such buildings, when no lives are threatened. While metal-truss roofs sag before collapsing, Chief Bolac said, lightweight wood-truss roofs can cave in without warning.
The department is in the process of feeding into its computer a list of all buildings in the city with lightweight wood-truss roofs, though the process could take months. When a fire alarm sounds, the computer will immediately alert firefighters if the burning building has such a roof. The department also is considering putting warning stickers on buildings with such roofs.
Since the fatal fire, the department has gone from sending two engine companies on first alarm to sending three, though Bolac said the extra engine wouldn't have saved the firefighters at the auto-parts store.
The department is considering adding a fourth firefighter to each engine, though the cost for all 72 engines would be about $2.5 million annually. The city staff just recommended hiring 44 firefighters over the next three years.
Significantly, the Fire Department is looking at ways to have fewer radio transmissions, so as not to overload the present system.
What's needed, however, is an adequate radio system. It seems criminal to ask firefighters to risk their lives with inferior equipment. Police and other city departments use the same antiquated communications system, on different channels. One can imagine a citywide emergency for which radio communication would be woefully inadequate. by CNB