THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608290406
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL AND JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 109 lines
The state's division of Occupational Safety and Health has cited the city's Fire Department for three ``serious'' violations of state labor laws in a March fire in which two firefighters died.
One of the violations echoes a charge made by the city firefighters' union that the department did not follow standards requiring at least two backup firefighters to stand by when a two-man team enters a burning building.
Backup firefighters did not arrive on the scene of a burning auto parts store until after Frank Young and John Hudgins Jr. went in. The two men died in the March 18 fire.
The state report also cited the Chesapeake department for having a broken water gauge on the pumper truck, which wouldn't allow the firefighters to know how much water they had, and for a faulty fire plan for the shopping center where the auto parts store was located. The plan did not show the closest hydrant, and firefighters did not know what the roof design was.
Chief Michael L. Bolac, who has attracted criticism since the incident for his department's training, staffing levels and equipment, said the state report bolsters his position that there are no serious problems in his department.
``While we are concerned with removing all obstacles to firefighter safety none of these things caused the deaths,'' he said Wednesday.
Still, Bolac said he planned to ask for a hearing on some of the findings because he believes there are circumstances the state report should have taken into consideration.
For example, backup firefighters likely would not have prevented the deaths even if they had been on the scene from the beginning. He said those firefighters likely would have perished trying to rescue their colleagues.
Also, the broken water gauge was not an issue in this incident, he said, because the two firefighters inside the building never ran out of water.
And the fire plan did not show the closest hydrant because it was over the city line in Virginia Beach, Bolac said.
``I'm not trying to downplay what they (the state) found,'' he said. ``It was serious enough that we already fixed it.''
George Burke, a spokesman for the International Association of Firefighters in Washington, D.C., said Wednesday, ``The citation reinforces what the (union) has been saying since day one.''
Burke said the citations were further evidence that Bolac should step down and allow someone else to lead the department.
In May, following the release of a report that the union said was critical of the department, union officials demanded that Bolac resign.
Bolac ``has gone out of his way to put the blame on others, but the reality is, the citations show the blame squarely rests on his shoulders,'' Burke said.
Bolac said the department has fixed some of the problems cited in the report. They include:
Firefighters have been ordered not to enter a burning building until there are two backup people on the scene. Before, that decision was left up to each company's officers, Bolac said.
The pumper truck with the faulty gauge has been taken out of service.
Firefighters have been coached on the need to take more care when drafting fire plans for buildings.
City Council on Tuesday night also approved a plan, backed by Bolac, to label buildings that have wood truss roofs, a type of construction that tends to collapse quickly when exposed to heat and fire. The auto parts store was a wood truss building, although it was listed as having a steel roof. Firefighters will be trained to better identify structures throughout the city.
``We will always do the best we can, as safely as we can,'' Bolac said.
``We don't compromise on safety.''
A recent poll of area fire departments shows that Chesapeake is the only one that now requires its men to wait for backup when there are not enough on the scene to comply with the ``two-in, two-out'' rule. Virginia Beach, Portsmouth and Suffolk allow the incident commanders to make the decision, according to spokesmen for their departments.
Norfolk has enough people to comply with the rule when the first units arrive, a spokesman said.
Following the deaths of the two firefighters in March, Bolac issued new procedures that require firefighters to wait for backups before going into a burning building.
The state is deciding how to enforce that rule, and Bolac is on the committee that will make that decision.
Personally, Bolac says he prefers leaving the decision on whether to go in or not to the incident commander on the scene.
Bolac on Wednesday defended his department, saying he and others have dissected operations and made important improvements since the March tragedy.
``Everybody, from me down, is saying, `What could we have done to prevent this?' '' he said.
``I don't know whether we'll ever know.'' ILLUSTRATION: B\W photo Chief Michael L. Bolac said Wednesday.
Graphic
Photos
Frank Young, left, and John Hudgins Jr. were killed in March when
the roof collapsed on them.
Virginia's division of Occupational Safety and Health cited the
Fire Department for
1. not following standards that require at least two backup
firefighters to stand by when a two-man team enters a burning
building.
2. having a broken water gauge on the pumper truck, which
wouldn't allow the firefighters to know how much water they had
3. having a faulty fire plan for the shopping center where the
auto parts store was located. The plan did not show the closest
hydrant, and firefighters did not know what the roof design was.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT FATALITY FIRE
VIOLATIONS by CNB