Photos of damage to rigs, provided by Dunkirk VFD
Statement from Anne Arundel County on mutual aid changes and other issues
Anne Arundel County’s notification to Dunkirk about running assignment adjustments
Dunkirk Chief Toby Sealey’s response to Anne Arundel County
Dunkirk Chief Toby Sealey’s message to STATter 911 discussing police report and other topics
Original article on the collision from The Capital
In the wake of the collision between two fire trucks responding to the same emergency, the Anne Arundel County Fire Department has changed the way it dispatches Calvert County’s Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department on mutual aid calls into Anne Arundel. In a statement to STATter911.com, Anne Arundel County Chief John Robert Ray said the decision to ”limit but not eliminate” Dunkirk’s responses was made “in the interest of public and firefighter safety”.
Image provided by Dunkirk VFD.
Dunkirk VFD Chief Toby Sealey calls the change “flat out dangerous” and says it is ”a poor decision that will have ill fated results with due time”.
In explaining that decision, Chief Ray says his department “operates under nationally recognized best practices policies and procedures for both responses to and operations at emergency incidents”. According to Ray, ”there has been some deviation from these policies by members of one of our neighboring departments”. Ray is “hopeful that continued discussions and perhaps joint training opportunities will yield positive results, which will allow me to revert to the prior response profile with this company.”
Chief Sealey forwarded to STATter911.com an email sent by Anne Arundel County Division Chief H. Lee Cornwell outlining the new mutual aid plan. The email says in part:
… in light of the recent accident at RT255/RT468, our department determined it was necessary to make adjustments to the running assignments. Although we think our meeting last week was promising, this incident is just another example of the concern we have with your company. In summary, any box area where your company is either closest or second due, the assignments remained the same. Box areas where your company was greater than second due, your company has been removed from the running assignments.
Dunkirk’s Engine 51 and Anne Arundel’s Tower 40 collided while responding to a reported gas leak on February 14. The Capital of Annapolis reports the driver of Dunkirk’s rig, 24-year-old David Stream, has been charged with one count of unsafe driving by an operator of an emergency vehicle. The Capital also cites the police report as saying Tower 40 had the green light and that Dunkirk’s engine didn’t stop at the scene, but continued to the call.
Chief Sealey, in an email to STATter911.com, disputes the police report and says pictures he has provided prove that a diagram on that report is wrong. STATter911.com currently does not have a copy of that police report.
Chief Sealey also forwarded his response to Chief Cornwell. In it, Sealey cites numerous concerns about the relationship between the volunteers at his station and the career staff in Anne Arundel County.
Sealey sent along two images he claims had been posted at Anne Arundel County Station 9. One is a Jeopardy style question that reads “Where do reject Prince George’s County firefighters spend their days off?”. The other is set up as a caution message that uses expletives to indicate Dunkirk volunteers are on the way to mess things up.
Sealey also writes in his email to Cornwell that an individual at Station 9 tossed Dunkirk provided SOPs into the trash can. He adds:
The same individual most likely (is) responsible for comparing a picture of Engine 52 to that of a school bus that transports handicapped children that was posted in the station, along with other derogatory posters and drawings that I do in fact have in my possession, and were given to me by one of your employees that will remain nameless at this time to prevent any retaliation by you or your command staff. Do you condone this type of immature behavior in your stations? Do you condone the hostile work environment that your employees are creating for my men and women? How would you explain these derogatory posters to a citizen that stops by one of your stations to show their kids a firetruck, or a citizen that’s having a medical emergency? Is that the PROFESSIONALISM that you praise that your county and your employees have?
STATter911.com altered this image to remove language that may be offensive to some.
Anne Arundel County Division Chief Michael Cox, a department spokesman, tells STATter911.com “these images are obliviously inappropriate and an investigation into the matter is underway.” Cox says in a statement, “Any individuals found guilty of such inappropriate behavior will be dealt with appropriately, in accordance with established departmental policy.”
In an incident STATter911.com covered in January, 2009, the professionalism of Chief Sealey was brought into question after photos surfaced in the publication St. Mary’s Today of Sealey wearing a fire department shirt exposing himself at a Dunkirk bar.
Asked about this, Chief Sealey wrote:
I am aware of the issues in January of 2009, and I have handled the cards that were dealt to me regarding that issue. Is it something to be proud of? Absolutely not. If it takes people (commenters on your site) to beat a dead horse (ref. Jan.2009) to get the point across about how this decision that Anne Arundel County Fire Department is making then so be it. Once again, just for clarification, this issue isn’t about me at all, which I’m sure that you are very aware of. This is about the safety and well being of fellow Fire, Rescue, and EMS personnel (in) both Anne Arundel, and Calvert County, as well as the general public.
Toby Sealey is also a career firefighter in the District of Columbia. In his emails (links above), Sealey apologizes for a late response to these issues because he is recovering from second degree burns received during a fatal fire in DC on February 17. Sealey was released from the MedStar Burn Unit at the Washington Hospital Center on Friday.
David Stream is also a career firefighting with the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department, assigned to Station 24 in Accokeek. Stream faces the possibility of a $150 fine and three points on his license.
Also on STATter911 …
- Raw video: Three-alarms for Glen Burnie, Maryland apartment fire. Check out the name of the street. – April 15, 2011
- PGFD Chief sends out thanks to the troops. Encourages A.A.R. Read message. – February 21, 2011
- Hurricane Irene: Live video & public safety radio. – August 27, 2011
- Two from FireTruckBlog.com: Storm damaged rigs & Antique of the Week. – September 25, 2011
Comments
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I really wish the IAFF would take Local 36 off the map. Better yet, I wish the Local I am affiliated with, would leave the IAFF and join the teamsters so this kind of “scabbing” would not exist
finally dunkirk is held responsible for their actions
Boo Hoo Toby. Now your company won’t be able to run into Anne Arundel 3rd due or higher. The world is coming to an end! Why doesn’t your company spend the extra time drilling and driver training.
I love the Jeopardy sign! Going through their online roster, it is spot on!
“Chief” Sealey, and I use that term VERY loosely, is quite the role model for his band of merry men.
Those two images are pretty funny, kinda sucks when you hit the nail on the head, right Toby?
Chief Sealy is making a mountain out of a mole hill. He should attend some public relations and leadership classes.
1. HIS driver was involved in a property damage accident and left the scene. oh yeah… working fire – all rules and laws go out the window.
2. He did “suspend” his driver. That was a step in the right direction.
Most of “the chief’s” actions beyond that are questionable. Toby, being the chief, and his fellow volunteers will always be scrutinized by the actions of any one of his members. The key to preventing this from happening in the future is to identify your “liabilities” and limit them. If that means training and retraining, then do it. If that means taking someone off the “driver list” then do it. Dunkirk VFD, an organiziation that may seem like a boys club to some, is also a part of government and must be held to the highest standards.
To the A.A. County personnel from station 9 that printed up the Jeopardy sign- Please print it again with the proper name for the county. It is Prince George’s County. Other than that, it is perfect!
Chief Sealey trots out posters from anne arundle county and trys sink a bunch of carreer folks there. But, when his own out of line actions are called into question he states they have nothing to do with incident in question. If your lewd behavior has nothing to do with the accident then neither does a sign in a firehouse. If you want the signs down, don’t run red lights and hit fire trucks.
They can’t even bust balls correctly- On Jeopardy, the answer is on the screen and the contestants must provide the question.
“Do you condone this type of immature behavior in your stations? Do you condone the hostile work environment that your employees are creating for my men and women? Is that the PROFESSIONALISM that you praise that your county and your employees have?” +
http://statter911.com/?feb_network_search_context=blog&s=DUNKIRK+FRATHOUSE = KARMA
KARMA
If I were a fire chief I believe I would have used spell check and had someone proof read my email before putting it out there for all to read.
Good for Anne Arundel County. This was a clear case of hit and run and leaving the scene of an accident, an action that is illegal no matter if you are a volunteer fireman or not. There are a lot of “two-hatters” that conduct themselves in their VFD’s in ways that would get them terminated if they did it on the job where they work to earn a living.Tell Sealey and his band of teenyboppers to grow up-just because there is no form of government in Dunkirk to hold them accountable, that doesn’t give them a free reign on juvenile conduct.
The posters are pretty funny, and I think these guys deserve some credit for coming up with a piece of humor that doesn’t offend anyone on the basis or race, religion, sexual preference, etc.
The real issue is why did two rigs hit each other. I am not a chief, but perception is someone’s reality, and if my department was perceived as unsafe, I would worry about the glass windows on my house, before I started throwing them at the neighbors.
Yep, Tower 40 stopped at the intersection, checked in all directions, like we’re told we should do, then proceded through at which point they were plowed into by Engine 51.
Wait! The damage is on the rear of Engine 51… How can that be?
Would we be having this discussion if it had been two AACo career staffed rigs involved? Have we forgotten that many of the volunteers in MD are career firefighters elsewhere? Suddenly, because they’ve put on a hat that says “volunteer,” they become incompetent rubes?
Give me a break. If the same guy showed up on his career rig, would he be treated like a pariah, or a brother? I thought so.
We’re all in this together.
There are voluminous number of stories found on this as well as other websites that describe continuous serious problems among members of the fire service in the Maryland – D.C. area … It amazes me to see the level of childishness shown by some of these people who consider themselves to be firefighters. It seems that the problems are caused by ‘chest pounders” who consider themselves to be the best firefighters and who pride themselves upon racing other departments to fire scenes.
NEWS FLASH!!! Firefighting (when performed properly) is a team sport. There is no room in the fire service for this “Little Rascals” approach to firefighting. To those of you who are guilty of this dangerous behavior, grow up and become part of the team … If you can’t do that then leave the fire service and join the W.W.F. …
This was a terrible decision by Chief Ray to cut Dunkirk VFD out of Mutual Aide. This was not the way to resolve this particular issue. It only hurts the citizens who call 911. The Anne Arundel County Fire Department truly operates under a “Culture of Safety”. This culture, as explained by FDNY Lt. Ray McCormack, illustrates how the modern fire department puts the firefighter’s safety above that of the citizens who call for help. The AA County Command Staff should check out Lt. McCormack’s video from last years FDIC Conference. My family lives in Lothian, therefore Dunkirk is usually the 2nd or 3rd due company to their house. If my family was trapped in their burning house in Lothian, I am sure the Dunkirk Volunteers would make effort possible to rescue them. Just as Chief Sealy did for the trapped victim in the recent D.C. fatal house fire on East Capitol Street. Meanwhile, the AA companies would be busy forming their 40 man RIT company, correctly erecting their command board, donning their lime green vest, and performing multiple 360′s around the dwelling. Guys, sometimes we are the last hope for the people we serve. If you are unwilling to take the risk that the job presents, then just close up shop or pursue another profession. Otherwise, don’t cut out the folks who are willing to do the job.
This was a terrible decision by Chief Ray to cut Dunkirk VFD out of Mutual Aide. This was not the way to resolve this particular issue. It only hurts the citizens who call 911. The Anne Arundel County Fire Department truly operates under a “Culture of Safety”. This culture, as explained by FDNY Lt. Ray McCormack, illustrates how the modern fire department puts the firefighter’s safety above that of the citizens who call for help. The AA County Command Staff should check out Lt. McCormack’s video from last years FDIC Conference. My family lives in Lothian, therefore Dunkirk is usually the 2nd or 3rd due company to their house. If my family was trapped in their burning house in Lothian, I am sure the Dunkirk Volunteers would make effort possible to rescue them. Just as Chief Sealy did for the trapped victim in the recent D.C. fatal house fire on East Capitol Street. Meanwhile, the AA companies would be busy forming their 40 man RIT company, correctly erecting their command board, donning their lime green vest, and performing multiple 360′s around the dwelling. Guys, sometimes we are the last hope for the people we serve. If you are unwilling to take the risk that the job presents, then just close up shop or pursue another profession. Otherwise, don’t cut out the folks who are willing to do the job.
WOW! Toby, what an embarassment you are. I can’t believe you think that you can question someone who has so much more experience than you do. You look like such a fool; I’m sure you don’t even realize it. Maybe one day you’ll figure it out.
You may have valid issues with AA County that most people don’t know about. You have shot yourself in the foot with your piss poor letter. I’m sure your attorney can advise you on this too. Please grow up Toby. You make DCFD and Dunkirk look so silly.
Also, leave PG County out of this. They have nothing to do with any of this mess.
I think its quite funny that through all this, Chief Sealey still doesn’t realize that you don’t leave the scene of an accident. It’s really a cut and dry issue.
I wish everyone had balls and left a name with a post! Look at the pics if dunkirk Tboned T40 the whole side would be mashed in and 51 would have front damage. HMMMM 51 has rear damage and tower 40 has front damage. Do the math. I want to know what AACO does when patch pricks lie on a report? And as far as your teenyboppers and what else your little minds come up with any day of the week Im sure Sealey will take your challenge.
why do you all hide behind a screen name and bash chief sealy?sure we have all had a bit of a childish past,Dave if these people are gonna bash someone please either ensure they have a a real name or delete the comment.i dont know chief sealy but i do think people need to grow some b@##’s when it come’s to bashing someone.
Not here to bash on either department or Chiefs, but the facts or not being seen the way they whould be. One piece had a green light and the other had a red light. Doesnt Maryland law state that you must still slow at a controlled interesction with a red light to ensure that its clear? If involved in a collision, shouldnt units stop to see if all are ok, advise a command officer what had happened and proceed on so command knows what has happened. People are on here quoting Lt. McCormick and using his words of putting us ahead of the public. What if some one on either rig was hurt or killed? There wouldnt have been people there to help the public, two full crews would be taken out of the equation. Lt. MCormick (to me) is talking about our decisions on fire grounds and not giving us excuses to drive like we in bumper cars and take each other out going to the scene. Im only looking from the outside in at the facts given and how they (to me again) seemed to be overlooked. My opinion only and yes I know theyre like assholes……
Dear Mr. the Deputy,
You’re right. I too have had a bit of a childish past. Especially when I was a child. But when I got older and matured a bit, I realized that everything I learned in life up until that point comes in handy. One thing I learned when I first received my driver’s license, was that if I was involved in a crash, I don’t leave until after any formalities were taken care of.
I believe most people leaving comments on this forum against chief Sealy, are doing so due to the immature and unprofessional way he is dealing with a crisis in his “organization”.
You know, as well as I, that if people did leave their real names on this forum, there would be a whole slew of news stories because of it.
signed,
the Deputy (that’s not my real name either)
Chief Sealy is going about this all the wrong way. Instead of fighting any of this, the fact of the matter is that one of his drivers made a mistake and must be dealt with. Why couldn’t he just state that in a press release after he was made an example of. Maybe because, not only is Toby the volunteer chief, but he is also good friends with alot of the club member there in Dunkirk. How can he make an example of someone that he parties with?
Does Toby realize that even if the police report wasn’t accurate in the description of the accident, it doesn’t matter. Dunkirks engine WAS involved and Dunkirks engine left the scene. End of story. What’s so hard to understand about that. I think some people need to take their blinders off to get a clearer view of what’s going on.
Tower 40 comes around a blind turn in the wrong lane of traffic. How was 51 going to see them. Answer that. Stop on red and go if you dont see anything.
Given that it seems that a lot of the other information reported about the accident is in question, are we really sure that the Dunkirk engine left the scene, or is that just the story some folks would like us all to believe?
Chief 5 has taken the focus away from this incident and brought it onto his poor leadership at ‘the frathouse’. It appears that he has written his statements based on his emotions rather than composing a professional response to this issue. Get a grip Toby. You claim to be this awesome firefighter capable of teaching the world how its done; why not start by setting the example? Whether your driver was right or wrong will come out. You say that you have all the evidence to clear your driver, why not relax and present it in a professional manner? You gain respect of your peers based on how you handle these type of situations. Once you put words on paper (or pose for pictures) you cannot take it back. Your behavior is not the mark of someone who is expected to lead a dept.
Sounds like chaos prevails at Dunkirk.
The problems between AACoFD and Dunkirk have been ongoing for years. This crash between the tower and engine was just the straw that broke the camels back. Dunkirk blatantly disrespects Anne Arundels officers (both career and volunteer) on incident scenes. That operates as cowboys and frequently asks “what are you going to do take a zero from my paycheck”. They are volunteers and there is no accountability for their actions. Most are career employees elsewhere and would be in big trouble if they acted this way at work.
Anne Arundel is a very safety conscious department, we all know that. However when they did mount and interior attack on the little road fire Dunkirks cowboy ways led to one of Anne Arundels firefighters being hurt.
First off lets start with the facts. Engine 51 and Tower 40 tried to both share the same intersection at the same time. Second Engine 51 left the scene of an accident. Third neither the driver of Engine 51 or Tower 40 are members of IAFF Local 36. There is no need to bring that local into this. The driver of Engine 51 is a member of IAFF Local 1619, and broke the law.
Chief Sealy, I would recommend that you suspend the driver of your engine. Next I would make sure anything that I put out in writing was edited by someone that understands English and grammar.
As far as AA county taking Dunkirk off their boxes, well that is for them to deal with and live with if something happens to a citizen.
Now lets look at the most important fact. Nobody was hurt or killed due to this accident.
This gets better by the minute. Truely our worst enemies…
I was listening to a fire outside of Philly two days ago. A single station was dispatched for a smoke investigation in a house. They had heavy smoke in the house and the chief asked for a company for RIT. Not fill the box or multiple company response but a single company. The engine company, which was by themself and waiting for their other piece to respond (probably a ladder truck) got in trouble and started screaming they were going to find a window to get out. The chief’s response to communications was to ask where the RIT company was (they responded with 2 men).
The point is taking a mutual aid company off assignments by the AA Fire Chief is not smart and not necessarily in the interest of safety. It is in the interest of political expediency per the Union and the belief that the AA Chief is justified in controlling the operational practices of the County next door.
The way this is playing out is disgusting, IMO.
The insurance companies should start becoming more involved in the fire service as it was over a century ago and make decisions of risk vs reward. For instance, what is more worthy of indemnification, losing property at the risk of unsafe operational practices either by response (Calvert) or by poor firefighting (AA).
I guess this is Dunkirk’s attempt to say they weren’t at fault and ergo they didn’t leave the scene of an accident. As far as the idiot driving Dunkirks pumper, I hope the MVA revokes his license. I don’t know what it is going to take for these morons to realize they are driving a 30 ton vehicle not an Indy race car.
What is this? Mother Jugs & Speed firefighting? WoW
Feel the LOVE!
1. Dunkirk left the scene of an accident. Nothing to dispute there.
2. Dunkirk cannot admit they were wrong and move on like adults, instead they pull their proverbial pants down and expose themselves as immature and insecure.
wow i really find all of these comments very funny im willing to bet that no one that has responded to this post were there and none of us know the truth and the events leading to the accident but to me and justmy point of view is if there rear end dammage to the dunkirk engine and front damage to the aaco tower that was in the wrong lane to begin with sounds like we know who hit who also i havent seen the pictures so only going off of hearsay but i hear dunkirk had hardley any damage to there unit so man that must of been a severe accident and did the driver even know there had been an accident prob. not I support Dunkirk and Chief Sealey and think aaco is making a big mistake trying to stop dunkirk 5 from the run cards
to the other The Deputy
what you fail to see is that i am defending him because he was not driving this engine yet he still seems to be catching crap over it,he took action agianst his driver and is looking into the incident according to all these reports,let him do his job as the chief of dunkirk and we shall all see in time what comes of this….and the deputy isnt my real name either but i will post it if i call anyone out.
WHO CARES….Anne Arundel County is a wacked out dept anyway. They are cowards when it comes to firefighting. Thank god they have volunteers in the county, they are the only ones with the balls to run into a house fire. Why the hell do you think all the AA county boys leave to join the DCFD?
merrill
way to roll over on your dept,mad because you are not the chief anymore?mad because chief sealy tossed your sorry butt outta there?dont bash the man for doing the job you couldnt!
to the Deputy,
Of course he is catching crap over it. What I was simply trying to point out was that he is catching crap over it because of the way he is handling it. I want him to do his job as the chief of Dunkirk, but he is also doing alot of things that he shoudln’t be doing. Why, atthis point would you write a letter to Dave Statter (aka- the press) and come out swinging? No manager in their right mind would do such a thing when it definitely is not warranted. Just my two cents.
Toby, if you sent that long winded response on your blackberry you have way to much time on your hands. Quit being such a cry baby and please STOP justifying why you and “your men” must run into AA County. Sounds like limiting “your men” from responding into AA County will save lives. While your at it stop trying to tell the AA County Fire Chief how he should do his job. Every time you do, you make yourself sound like a bigger and bigger idiot. You may be a good firefighter and some day when you mature a bit you may become a decent volunteer chief. But if you think you’re equal to a County Fire Chief you think way to highly of yourself. Even with all the credentials you may have, you have no idea what your talking about and you’re better off trying to mend fences then to accuse big bad AA County for being mean to you.
AA County doesn’t need you or Dunkirk as much as you think. Your response only demonstrates your lack of maturity. Grow up!
Lets debate this in a real forum. Early in the am with know Alcohol. All posts on this issue show up. Show your real colors.
Know means NO!!!!!
It is amazing how much trash talking is going on between the two departments. It doesn’t matter where the damage is on either truck. The trucks hit. One had a green light, one had a red light. Simple. If the one running the light passed the other before they could stop…then it would get hit in the rear as the Tower turned. If the police report isn’t completely correct…that would be because the other truck WASN’T THERE to give their side of the story.
If AA county wants to cut Dunkirk’s responses that is their choice. They have to limit their liability to responders they can’t control.They will have to readjust their response plans to cover the change. So that’s that. This is a county wide decision, and trying to make it a personal fight is silly. The over the top personalities are clouding the issue, and the irresponsible actions of the Dunkirk chief just make it worse. He may be a professional fire fighter but he is far from a professional chief (which has nothing to do with whether or not he is paid or volunteer)
Hey there “You dont know me anyway”, there is a perfectly good reason why I was quoting Lt. Ray McCormack. If you have the slightest clue what is going on between these two fire departments, than you would understand that this debate goes well beyond this little fender bender. This is AA County Fire Department’s method of keeping Dunkirk VFD off of the fireground. I grew up in South AA County, which gave the oportunity to witness more than a few of this so called fire department’s operations. These guys have real niche for burning the roof off of a house. Furthermore, they love to start that PPV well before the fire is properly extinguished. Now, dont get me wrong. AAFD has plenty of good experienced fireman, however the command staff prevents them from doing the job. The Anne Arundel County Fire Department has adopted that “Culture of Safety”. Dunkirk remains a fairly aggressive organization based on speedy extinguishment. The two just do not mix. Hence, AAFD was looking for any excuse to oust Dunkirk from mutual aide. The accident just happen to be the catalyst. The end result of this whole matter; when my parents are trapped in their burning Lothian house, there will truely be no chance of rescue. This is not about paid or volunteer to me. It’s about who’s going to get the job done.
Before people on here start running their mouth. I didn’t post that on here today. So Deputy, get your facts straight before you run your mouth about me, or how im this or that. I will never hide behind a computer if i have a problem or something to say. Ive already received like 10 phone calls asking why i put that on here. So, i’ve actually come on here to read what they were talking about. Wow, somebody else who is trying to stir more stuff up put my name on here because they were not man enough. I would hope the guys at Dunkirk know me a little better then that. Thank you for wasting 20 min of my life reading this garbage …whoever wrote that today, im so thrilled i have people out there thinking about me. The Real Merrill Wells!
If Dunkirk VFD leaves the scene of an accident, I don’t trust them to do the right thing on a fireground. Good job AAFD, you should be commended for not putting up with a group of kids playing with big toys. This is serious business and it does not matter if your career or volunteer. AAFD is trying to run a professional organization and Sealy and the boyz are throwing a temper tantrum. Keep them out of AA County not because they are volunteers but because they can’t be trusted to perform safely or in the best interest of anyone other than themselves.
Calvert County should take a close look at what is going on at Dunkirk, this can’t be an isolated event.
Toby, do you really believe that Chief Ray should have all the volunteer chiefs from Anne Arundel County agree with his decision to limit Dunkirk’s response into AA County, and that Calvert County should have been involved in the decision? He’s not running a volunteer fire department so he does not need to make decisions in a manner that ensures he gets voted in next year. Tell me, how did you go about making the decision to take action against the driver? Whose approval did you need? Did you meet with your board of directors? Other Chief Officers, Calvert County leadership? Was the driver in the loop?
Here some advice for you, tell Chief Ray you’re sorry, work with AA County to get some training and tell your folks that if they do anything to get Dunkirk in the news, you will personally kick their A–. Then lay low and let this blow over.
I think some of these posters should have remained in school and received a proper education.