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New Year's Eve incident involving Medic 9
Previous coverage of this story with fireground audio
WJBK-TV reporter Alexis Wiley, who did a follow-up report Monday night on Saturday's deadly house fire in Detroit where police took 13 minutes to respond to an unruly crowd, said that firefighters were outraged. But is anyone else outraged and is any reporter going to ask the right questions and demand some answers about this incident?
I am sure this slow response isn't the fault of police officers not wanting to help firefighters in trouble. One of my Detroit friends tells me the cops on the street are taking the heat for this. They shouldn't be.
The indication from the police spokesperson over the weekend was that this was resource related, calling the response time "appropriate" based on call volume and travel time.
In this latest story, Alexis Wiley used the same audio we shared with you on Sunday and highlighted the same clips we noted of Chief 5 calling for help at various points. The Monday response from the Detroit Police Department is pretty much the same as on Saturday. Wiley reports a spokesperson told her, considering the runs that police were already handling and the travel times "13 minutes is pretty good".
"Pretty good". "Appropriate". For firefighters in trouble?
Isn't anyone going to ask the police would this be pretty good and appropriate if it were a police officer in trouble? Many of our readers have asked that in the comments section and on Facebook after learning of this incident and the one New Year's Eve where Medic 9 was broken down with gunfire all around them.
There are other questions that I would hope some reporter would ask. Did the fire dispatchers do their jobs properly and relay the urgency of the request to police? Did the police dispatchers prioritize the call properly when given to them? Does anybody care? Shouldn't Charlie LeDuff be stalking city officials until he gets answers to these questions?
I am not naive about the lack of resources Detroit has been dealing with across the board in public safety. It's horrible. But have the standards become so low that everyone accepts that this is a "pretty good" or "appropriate" response?
Shouldn't a firefighter, or paramedic in trouble call be given the same priority as a police officer in trouble call, or at least damn close to it?
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Also on STATter911 …
- Fireground audio: Detroit firefighters under attack at fatal fire with rescues try to get police to the scene. DPD says 13 minute response time is ‘acceptable’. – January 9, 2012
- Detroit’s Charlie LeDuff faces camera after drunken weekend fight. Complaint to police says reporter urinated in public & bit security guard. – March 14, 2013
- ‘When seconds count, we’re only minutes away’. TV reporter Charlie LeDuff gives a status update on the Detroit Fire Department. – January 22, 2013
- Burning them six at a time in Detroit. Three separate boxes operating in three block area. – September 19, 2012
Comments
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Couldn't agree more Dave.
i'm not defending the cops but if they were really busy then the answer while not really a good one will still be legit. where i am its not unusual for the cops to get on the interagency freq and tell us to "step it up, step it up" but when we need them its "we're on the way"…when i was in dispatch and used to get an urgent call from the PD i'd process it ASAP (and follow it up with a direct call to CMA) but i used to laugh when "they" would recall after one minute and ask for an ETA or tell us to "step it up". i'd allways tel them "they're comming lights & sirens we cant come any faster.
i think somebody will just have to come clean and simply tell the truth because computer files and radio tapes cant be altered easily
smart money says there was simply not enough cops to respond quick enough, but most cops understand that when the FD is under attack, they need to step it up
I'm certain Charlie le Duff is looking into this. DPD undoubtly has it's problems also. One of which is probably having enough Officers on duty and working Police Cars.
The bigger question is where is Commissioner Donald Austin? Thought that things would improve under his "Outside" Management Experiences. Granted everything takes funding but the last time he was in the Media was the change in Suppression Mode, when the IC could "Write off" a building that was unsafe to make an Interior Fire Attack to Defensive Mode. That was about five six months ago.
Glad to hear no Detroit FF's were hurt.
I know this will generate a lot of FF's on this board to bash the cops, But we need to remember the cops are short staffed to and probably have their hands full dealing with major crimes. I know I have to wait for Law Enforcement for several minutes due to their call volume….
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away………
UKFB: Why is this a Fire Chief problem? Seems like you should be asking why isnt the Police Chief not in the media answering questions.
But as for Don Austin, changes to come overnight and without a hefty price tag. Even for a large city like L.A. funding was a big problem. So if you were thinking Chief Austin was going to make a lot of improvements I think you missed out. He can only change a few things
They had to make sure they finished their free coffee and donut before helping out
fyrecapt.
Maybe both Commissioner Austin and the DPD Chief should discuss the issue's together as one service impacts the other.
I'm well aware that changes in the DFD will only come slowly because it all gets down to funding.
All of your questions are right on Dave, but I'm thinking that no one is asking them because a 13 minute response time is probably good by DPD standards. Is it acceptable? No, especially when the FD is in trouble. If a Police Officer was asking for assistance, I bet it wouldn't take 13 minutes for the cavalry to get there. It would be nice for the Fire Commissioner to get out in front of this. We're still waiting on that one too.
I'm not going to knock the cops on this one. It is the city council and the mayor's fault there isn't sufficient emergency personnel on the streets. My only issue is that if this was the case of a sick child, or even god forbid an officer down, and the ambulance took 13 or more minutes, with units on scene having to repeatedly call for help; they would have crucified the ambulance crew and the fire department.
unfortunately, that city (and others like it) have a long history of public services being short-changed. And only when a high-profile incident happens does it appear that anyone seems to care- mostly becomes a sound bite on the evening news with no real solution being created. I have a book that shows cops and National Guardsmen riding on the Detroit fire trucks during the 60's riots. Seems like not much has changed in some aspects. Makes you wonder about where they find folks for public safety work in cities like that were it appears that neither the polticians nor its "citizens" care. What a thankless job!
Unless you are downtown, forget about a response of less than 15 mintes from PD or EMS. Yesterday's news had a story on a laborer in Detroit who sliced open his arm, cutting an artery in the process. He ran into a nearby dental office, where the dentist and her staff applied first aid that undoubtedly saved his life. Detroit EMS took over 30 minutes to respond.
Nothing has changed for years. My dad was a DPD cop. When my little brother fell off his bike and broke his nose and jaw, I called 911 and asked for an ambulance, and told them he was the son of a cop. A patrol car showed up in about 5 minutes, my dad grabbed my brother and jumped in, and they were gone 20 minutes before EMS arrived. My grandfather had a heart attack, his wife called for EMS, and after 30 minutes they called for a private ambulance from outside the city, who refused to respond into the city. She and the neighbors carried him to a car and drove him to the hospital, where he passed away. Those happened in the 70s/80s.
I am surprised we dont hear more stories of long response times from agencies throught out the U.S.
OUR public safety agencies have been cut in half, more for others and yet we continue to help bail out the rich Corporations!!
Good luck all
My old partner was being shot at on scene in the ambulance one time. Dispatch took 10 minutes to request a non-emergent police response. Didn’t even make the paper.(
My old partner was being shot at on scene in the ambulance one time. Dispatch took 10 minutes to request a non-emergent police response. Didn’t even make the paper.