THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 9, 1996 TAG: 9609070009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 75 lines
Criticism of the Chesapeake Fire Department never seems to end - partly because the local firefighters union wants the chief fired and partly because much of the criticism is justified.
The drumbeat of criticism began after two Chesapeake firefighters were killed March 18 when a store roof collapsed. Since then, the department has been accused of having inadequate staffing, training, planning and communications equipment.
Most recently the state division of Occupational Safety and Health cited these three serious violations of state labor laws in the fatal fire:
1. Not requiring at least two backup firefighters to stand by when a two-man team enters a building. Only one firefighter was standing by when the two firefighters who died entered the building.
2. Having a broken water gauge on the pumper truck at the scene. Water, as you know, is important in fighting fires.
3. Having a faulty fire plan for the shopping center where the burning store was located. It neither showed the closest hydrant, which was in Virginia Beach, nor described the roof design, which was dangerous in a fire.
Amazingly, Chief Michael L. Bolac said the state report bolstered his position that his department has no serious problems. He said he was relieved the investigation found that none of the problems cited contributed to the firefighters' deaths.
The next day, however, a supervisor for the state agency that issued the report contradicted that view by saying the findings document problems that directly contributed to the two firefighters' deaths.
``Any one of those things by itself perhaps would not have caused a death,'' said Elizabeth B. Tomlin, region supervisor for the agency that issued the report. ``But we had a constellation of things going on at once. When you have one error, it compounds with another error and it leads to a deadly situation.''
Chesapeake City Council is taking some steps to improve the Fire Department, while hoping questions about the competency of the chief and the department will go away.
They won't.
On the upside, council has approved hiring 20 new firemen this year and 20 more next year. The goal is to have four firefighters per engine rather than three. Since the city is spread out over more than 350 square miles, it's not unusual for a single engine to arrive at a fire. With only three firefighters aboard, it's mathematically impossible to have two firefighters as backups when two enter a burning building.
If firefighters know someone's inside, they'll ignore the two-person backup rule, but they might not know. While they wait for backup, lives could be lost inside the building, or more property might be lost than should be.
Also, council has approved a plan to clearly mark buildings that have a type of roof prone to collapse in fires.
Mayor William E. Ward said the city staff will study the latest report and respond to it at Tuesday's council meeting. There is a lot to respond to.
The communications system remains inadequate for major fires, and firefighters' morale is low. Still to come is a report on the fatal fire from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Obviously, Chief Bolac is the person responsible for fixing departmental problems. Council members are the ones responsible for seeing that he does his job.
With so much smoke, critics believe there should be a firing. But despite the problems, the council seems content with the chief's work so far. Mayor Ward said, ``I have not heard (from council members) of any overt dissatisfaction with the chief's performance.''
Yet Chief Bolac lacks credibility with many of his own firefighters. And the public can't tell whether to believe firefighters criticizing the department or the chief when he says things are fine or being fixed.
Clearly, however, the state report was critical. Residents deserve a Fire Department that they can be confident will put out fires and save lives. Recent events have shaken that confidence.
What's called for is a management audit of the Fire Department conducted by experts with no connection to it. The council should order such an audit to put residents' concerns to rest. by CNB