THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605240501
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 86 lines
A union representing more than half the city's firefighters called Thursday for the resignation of Fire Chief Michael L. Bolac, blaming his policies for the March deaths of two firefighters.
The union's action followed the release of a report on the fatal fire at an auto-parts store. That report outlined several recommendations the firefighters group says could have saved the two men, John Hudgins Jr., 32, and Frank Young, 38.
The Virginia Professional Firefighters say Bolac failed to require that an adequate number of firefighters be in place outside the burning building to rescue firefighters inside; that no effective system was in place to account for everyone at the scene; and that the radio system was inadequate.
``I clearly believe that the fire chief should be held accountable and responsible,'' said R. Michael Mohler, president of the Virginia Professional Firefighters. ``We're asking for him to step down, and if he doesn't we're going to ask City Council to fire him. . . . He's got to go before another firefighter is hurt or killed in the line of duty.''
Bolac said Thursday: ``I'm not going to resign. I don't think there's any basis for me to do that. I think the reports are very clear that there are multiple factors.''
The Virginia union is affiliated with the International Association of Firefighters and represents about 4,500 firefighters in the state, including about 190 of the approximately 325 Chesapeake firefighters.
In the report on the fire, at the Advance Auto Parts store in the 4000 block of Indian River Road, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health advised:
A buddy or team system that notifies the fire command immediately if any part of a team is missing.
That four firefighters be on the scene before any of them enters a burning building.
That radio equipment be adequate to support the volume of radio traffic at fire scenes to which multiple units have responded.
That fire departments should ensure that pre-fire planning and inspections cover all buildings.
That cities ensure that all electrical circuits are installed in accordance with the National Electrical Code, and fire departments should include electrical inspections in their pre-fire planning.
Mohler, of Fairfax, said the report confirmed the group's conclusions about the causes of the deaths. The association had previously said, ``The lack of adequate personnel to account for and conduct a rescue operation is the leading cause of the deaths of these two firefighters.''
On Thursday, Mohler added: ``We truly believe that if there had been two firefighters outside that building, John Hudgins Jr. and Frank Young would be alive today.''
Bolac said he was not surprised by the report and believed it reinforces the fire marshal's findings.
Bolac had been reminded at an August 1995 meeting of a federal requirement that adequate firefighting help be in place outside a burning building with firefighters inside, but failed to make it the rule in Chesapeake, Mohler said.
Bolac said Thursday he did not want to discuss the actions of the two firefighters who died.
``Everyone wants me to say how wrong they were, and I'm not going to say it,'' Bolac said. ``I'm not going to second-guess them. I'd have done the same thing they did exactly. . . . They want me to take all the blame for the deaths of these two firefighters, and it's not true. These two firefighters made a decision, and I support that decision.''
He said that two firefighters were outside at the time the roof collapsed. More people and better equipment would not have prevented the deaths, he said.
Instead, he blamed the March 18 deaths on a poorly constructed building with a lightweight wood-truss roof. When weakened by fire, the roof collapsed no longer able to support about 2,500 pounds of heating and air conditioning equipment on it.
In April 1994, the firefighters group criticized Bolac for telling City Council members that he did not need more firefighters, and that he intended to emphasize education and the installation of sprinklers and smoke detectors.
Bolac on Thursday said his comments had been taken out of context. ``I never said anywhere that we don't need more people,'' he said. ``The issue was, do we put four firefighters on an engine or to use additional firefighters in different ways. . . . We ask for more people every year.''
Also in April 1994, the Chesapeake branch of the NAACP demanded Bolac's removal, saying his leadership had eroded trust among firefighters and destroyed their confidence in him. In part, the problems stemmed from a September 1992 incident in which a white firefighter talked about the Ku Klux Klan and donned a pillowcase to taunt several black firefighters. ILLUSTRATION: Fire Chief Michael L. Bolac by CNB