After taking a swipe at Charlie LeDuff’s last report, I am happy to say he seems to be back on track with a story last night on new developments in the sorry state of affairs that is Detroit EMS. According to LeDuff, both the FBI and the Michigan attorney general are looking into issues involving the delivery of emergency medical care in the troubled city. LeDuff didn’t provide much in the way of detail other than talking about a connection to Medicaid, but he does provide an interesting look at just how bad things are on the EMS side in Detroit. Take a look.
A was reported fire yesterday afternoon at a warehouse at 2nd Street and Wharton Street in Philadelphia that was rented by one of Philadelphia’s Mummers organizations. The fire went to four-alarms The video above is from Rudy Thomas and the video immediately below is from phillyfirenews and includes the collapse of one of the walls of the structure. The third video also shows a collapse.
B/C-1 had heavy fire in the rear of a two story building, 60×100. Companies had trouble gaining access to the building. Second alarm struck and all companies to evacuate the building. Command placed all hand service with heaviest water lines. Requested the third alarm struck. One civilian was transported to the hospital with smoke inhalation. The fourth alarm was requested, had extension into an exposure.
Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said firefighters initially attacked the fire from inside, but the flames and smoke were too heavy. Several cars inside were on fire. The firefighters retreated.
“It was a good decision,” he said.
Ayers said there was “tons of fire (and) several explosions early on.”
A fire in South Philadelphia that started in a warehouse used to store cars caused heavy damage to a nearby warehouse used to store equipment for a successful Mummers group, destroyed a row home and left other row homes with smoke and water damage.
The four-alarm blaze began at 1301 South 2nd St. around 2:30 p.m. Officials say an elderly woman who lived in the row home that was destroyed was injured in the blaze and remained in stable condition Monday night.
The fire broke out near a warehouse that houses props and equipment used by the Fralinger String Band, a decorated Mummers group. The fire spread quickly to the warehouse and caused extensive damage to nearby homes.
A huge warehouse fire that erupted Monday might have destroyed elaborate props slated for use in the city’s annual New Year’s Day parade, event participants said.
Members of the Fralinger String Band said they were waiting to survey the damage from the blaze in a largely residential area of south Philadelphia. Firefighters were still pouring water on the building several hours after the first flames were reported, Fralinger Chairman Steve Coper said.
Several explosions were reported at the three-story industrial garage, fire department Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said. It took more than 100 firefighters almost four hours to get the blaze controlled.
As promised, WXYZ-TV spent more than six-minutes of it’s 6:00 newscast last night looking into the off-duty life of a Detroit firefighter. What reporter Scott Lewis found was not very pretty. It starts with two women who claimed Mike Risher hit them outside a bar almost two-years-ago. Much of that incident was caught on video. The women make the case that, despite that video and statements from witnesses, police in Hamtramck refused to investigate the case properly because it involved a firefighter.
Scott Lewis says that allegation is backed up in the story of a witness the reporter tracked down. The unidentified witness related something one of the police officers told him, “I can tell you right now, not much is going to come of this because he’s a Detroit fireman.”
In addition to the fight outside the bar, reporter Lewis shows video of what he says is another bar fight involving Risher. A couple who sued following that fight claimed Risher avoided being arrested after flashing his firefighter’s badge. The couple won a $15,000 judgment against the firefighter.
Lewis also claims police have been called to Risher’s home three times for domestic issues.
In addition to having his private life very publicly displayed, the TV station’s report has brought new issues for Firefighter Mike Risher. It has prompted police to take another look at the fight with the two women and it is bringing scrutiny from Executive Fire Commissioner Donald Austin.
7 Action News emailed Risher a copy of the security video from the Mars Bar. We asked him to point out where in the video he was seen intervening in another fight as he claimed. We also asked him about allegations raised in the prior bar fight and the alleged assault on his wife.
Risher did not respond.
The Investigators also contacted Hamtramck Police Chief Maxwell Garbarino and asked him why officers did not allow the women to make a report or look at their video. Garbarino, who was not the chief at the time of the incident, indicated that a detective should have followed up on the complaint. Garbarino has now assigned a detective to take a fresh look at the incident and he said both women will be brought into the police department for interviews.
7 Action News also contacted Detroit Fire Commissioner Donald Austin and asked him whether Risher’s behavior could be in violation of any fire department rules or regulations. Austin indicated he would be watching our investigation and stated that there is a chance Risher could be charged departmentally with conduct unbecoming of a firefighter.
Belgian Firefighter Marc Opstal has been in touch with STATter911.com both in the comments section and by phone. Opstal says WJBK-TV’s Charlie LeDuff reported wrong information about the visit by the Belgian firefighters to Detroit and wished that LeDuff had contacted them for comment first. Here’s what Opstal wrote:
As one of the 10 firefighters from Belgium, I need to react on the report and comments. First of all we are guests of the Detroit Fire Department and did not pay a dime for this. The 2000 dollars refered to is the money we spent on airfaire, rental cars and hotels for the tourist trip we will be making next week, which will bring us to Toronto, DC, Philadelphia and New York. Secondly, this visit was planned more than a year ago, long before the “tourist thrill”. Finally, we have done similar trips to other US cities since 1996. Another group will be visiting Austin, TX next week. Oh, and by the way, we paid for our tickets to the “burn” premiere, and thus show our support.
EARLIER COVERAGE:
It’s buried near the end of WJBK-TV reporter Charlie LeDuff’s rant about the state of the Detroit fire department under the administration of Commissioner Donald Austin and Mayor Dave Bing. LeDuff, who broke the story of Austin’s proposal to charge those who want to ride-along and train with the Detroit Fire Department, says “10 guys from Belgium took him up on the offer, paying $2,000 each.” LeDuff adds, “For that they get to pull hose, sleep in a real-life firehouse, go to a Tigers game and stand on the red carpet of the Burn premiere.”
As the reporter mentions in the video above, for that money one of the Belgian firefighters experienced a close call first hand. As we showed you yesterday, the firefighter was on the roof of a burning vacant warehouse when the roof gave way underneath him (click here for the video and audio of that incident).
LeDuff’s story came as the critically acclaimed documentary “Burn” had its Detroit premiere. While the coverage of the movie elsewhere around town and the country has been very good, LeDuff does not appear to be much of a fan:
The Detroit premiere of the documentary “Burn” plays Friday night. With respect to the hard-working firefighters who lay it on the line every night, the movie doesn’t show anything that we don’t already know. The Detroit Fire Department is a disaster, made worse by the bonehead budget cuts by Out-To-Lunch Dave Bing.
Reporter Charlie LeDuff claims Belgian firefighters paid $2000 for the “tourist thrill ride”. This one got something the others didn’t, a close call as the roof of a warehouse gave way underneath him. Click here for more.
Why allow a movie camera on the rigs to make yet another negative story about Detroit? We’re told it is to show the world the struggles of our emergency responders. Well, the cameras have left and the city still struggles. You don’t get rid of a negative image by making movies. You get rid of a negative image by fixing the problems. I thought we learned our lesson with Aiyana Stanley Jones, the seven-year-old who was shot to death by a cop with a cable television camera in tow. What has the fire commissioner done? He has issued an official department-wide bulletin telling the rank and file that the movie producers request they come to the premiere in their dress blues. The good tickets go for 50 bucks. Can somebody tell Dennis Leary they just got their pay cut by 10 percent?
WDIV-TV reports this Friday night fire is an example of the “let it burn” policy. Click here for video.
Another station, WDIV-TV. filed a report on the same night as “Burn” clearly illustrating “let it burn”, Commissioner Austin’s plan that combines firefighter safety with urban renewal. At least one resident interviewed supports the idea.
Want to learn to fight fires the Detroit way? Interested in riding-along and being put to work in a department that has lost firefighters due to layoffs? Willing to pay money for this privilege?
WJBK-TV reporter Charlie LeDuff says such a plan was outlined in an internal memo from Detroit Executive Fire Commissioner Don Austin. The commissioner’s idea gets the full LeDuff treatment with Austin telling the reporter he will call him back with a comment, but doesn’t. Instead the mayor’s office called the reporter claiming there was nothing to discuss publicly about the internal memo.
Since Mayor Bing gutted the fire service, the department has been forced to close down rigs and layoff men. What to do? Here’s a firecracker of an idea. Because Detroit for years has been a magnet for firefighter tourists riding along on the rigs, Commissioner Don Austin, according to his “ride-along training program” memo, is thinking, hey, why not put them to work and charge them for the privilege.
“What about when the roof falls on the guy that’s out helping. Who’s going to take care of his liability part?” one firefighter said.“That’s not the answer, no. We need firefighters, our laid off guys back. That’s what we need,” said Darnell McLaurin with DFAA Local 344.How does one of the laid off guys feel about being replaced by tourists?“Tourists? Wow. Do they know what to do?” said Sam Shack.
In the video above LeDuff refers to a story he did on Tuesday where firefighters couldn’t get police to stop by the firehouse to pick up a confessed murderer. Click here to watch that story:
Seeing as the police precincts were closed, the self confessed murderer came to Engine 40 to turn himself in. He begged them to call police, which they did.
“He shot four people and killed two,” said a Detroit firefighter. “No cop ever came here, and this is supposed to be a priority call when you call Central and say, okay, we need a scout car at the fire station.”After three or four hours, firefighters say they put him in a cab where he went to a police precinct and turned himself in.
The December fire at a Crown Heights, Brooklyn brownstone that critically burned Firefighter Robert Weidmann is one of the reasons FDNY is studying ventilation techniques in residential buildings.
Will FDNY begin attacking residential basement fires from the exterior through windows rather than interior stairs? Is opening the roof in the initial stages of a fire in a row house a priority? Which is more important to do first, search and rescue or putting water on the fire?
The FDNY is hoping to find the answers to these questions and more as they start burning 20 rowhomes filled with furnishings tomorrow (Monday). An article by Joseph Goldstein in the New York Times, says the materials we now furnish our homes with has FDNY seriously questioning some of its longstanding tactics on residential fires. Goldstein writes the concern is that the use of plastics in things like sofas and mattresses has changed the way a room and its contents burn and that firefighters may need to change the way they approach such fires:
With more plastic in homes, residential fires are now likely to use up all the oxygen in a room before they consume all flammable materials. The resulting smoky, oxygen-deprived fires appear to be going out. But they are actually waiting for an inrush of fresh air, which can come as firefighters cut through roofs and break windows.
Mr. Cassano, the fire commissioner, acknowledged that “ventilation may be hurting people in the fire if we don’t ventilate properly.”
Goldstein interviewed Stephen Kerber from Underwriters Laboratories. UL is taking part in the experiments along with the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Kerber told Goldstein that firefighters always assumed venting meant cooling but they are finding ”that venting doesn’t cool and allows for things to get much hotter”.
And there’s more:
The experiments will test whether another approach, sticking a nozzle through a basement window, is more effective. The Fire Department has long been inclined to fight fires from inside residences, rather than through open windows, based on a belief that the outside method will drive the fire toward other areas of the house, where occupants might be.
The article cites two well known tragic fires related to modern furnishings and ventilation. One is the Sofa Super Store fire in Charleston that took the lives of nine firefighters five-years-ago. The other is the fire last year that critically burned Firefighter Robert Wiedmann at a Crown Heights brownstone.
One chief involved in the experiments told Goldstein he doesn’t expect the findings will lead to an abandonment of aggressive interior firefighting but will alter the way ventilation is done.
WJBK-TV reporter Charlie LeDuff is back on the case of the Detroit Fire Department and says it is still in bad shape with little hope on the horizon.
At the same time, LeDuff is asking what ever happened to the big green fire truck? That’s the 1983 tower ladder that was donated to the City of Detroit by a Michigan man. The fire department sort of reluctantly accepted it back in September of last year. LeDuff discovered, despite a claim by Commissioner Donald Austin that it could be up and running in a month, the department had no intention of using it. The rig is sitting in the shop.
But LeDuff has found someone who wants that truck rather desperately. He is the mayor of nearby Highland Park whose department is in even worse shape than the Detroit Fire Department. We have been showing you videos recently of the understaffed and under equipped Highland Park Fire Department (here & here).
“I would ask the mayor of Detroit, Mayor Bing, to bring that fire truck here to Highland Park because we definitely need it,” says Mayor Deandre Windom. “Please, please, please, please, bring the fire truck here to Highland Park.”
The mayor says he called Detroit, but nobody would call him back.
Well, Mayor Bing didn’t return my call. Deputy Commissioner Fred Wheeler didn’t return my call. I’m starting to feel like the mayor of Highland Park.
For the love of god, free the big green fire truck for the sake of somebody’s children!
Commissioner Donald Austin last June when he brought up the issue of tactics for vacant structure fires, saying he wanted a clear indication of a life hazard before entering. Click here for that story.
Donald Austin Jr., the Executive Fire Commissioner of Detroit, has some novel ideas to deal with a 15 percent cut in the 2012-2013 budget for his department. Austin told Tammy Stables Battaglia at Detroit Free Press, “I’ll give him every penny I can without cutting people”. But the commissioner does expect to lose firefighters through attrition.
Austin’s focus is on the major fire problem for Detroit, vacant structures. The city lost 200,000 residents in the past decade.
• Allowing vacant homes that are more than 50% ablaze when firefighters arrive to burn to the ground, as long as no lives are in jeopardy. The approach isn’t feasible in high winds or other dangerous conditions, Austin said.
• Asking the U.S. Navy’s construction division — the Seabees — to raze 10,000 vacant and dilapidated homes.
• Creating a demolition unit in the Fire Department, much like the Tractor Company he created in Los Angeles that cut breaks around wildfires, maintained hillside fire roads and overhauled large industrial fires. Detroit’s crew would use heavy equipment to raze the remnants of newly burned buildings, he said.
Reducing the number of vacant homes and buildings, and in turn cutting the number of fires, would not only save money but improve the look of the city. Austin told the paper, “One reason people are not coming back to the city is because it looks like hell.”
Union president Dan McNamara doesn’t like the idea unless the structure is on a demolition list compiled by the city.
Last June Commissioner Austin also made headlines when he told firefighters he didn’t want them to enter vacant structures without a clear indication of a life hazard.
This news comes on the same day the documentary about the Detroit Fire Department, ”Burn”, debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival.
During a press conference shortly after 4:00 PM Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers provided a more complete timeline of the rescue and recover of the firefighters trapped this morning. Here’s the information -
Collapse – 5:56 AM
FF Chaney removed – 6:12 AM
FF Nally removed – 6:22 AM
Lt. Neary removed – 7:06 AM
FF Sweeney removed – 7:25 AM
EARLIER:
At a noon hour press conference Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers says the firefighters who died and were injured in the collapse this morning of a furniture store at 2411 Kensington Avenue had gone back into the building to confirm that earlier efforts to extinguish fire in the exposure building had been successful. It was at that time, approximately a half-hour after the fire at a vacant warehouse and other exposures had been declared under control, that a wall and part of the roof collapsed at the furniture store. Four firefighters were trapped for an extended period as their colleagues worked to free them.
Above is raw video from the press conference during the noon hour.
Killed were Lt. Robert Neary and Firefighter Daniel Sweeney of Ladder 10. Firefighter Pat Nally is in critical but stable condition. Firefighter Francis Chaney is in stable condition. A fifth firefighter was able to free himself from the rubble and was treated and released.
Lt. Robert Neary and Firefighter Daniel Sweeney, Ladder 10.
“With deep regret,” Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers has disclosed the names of two Philadelphia firefighters who perished this morning battling a fire in a furniture store that spread from a raging five-alarm blaze that leveled an aging Kensington warehouse.
Neary was hoping to retire soon, and Sweeney was the son of a recently retired fire captain, according to Ladder 10 colleagues.
It took firefighters about two hours to dig out all of the trapped firefighters, said Deputy Fire Commissioner Ernest Hargett.
Google Maps view of furniture store at 2411 Kensington Avenue. Collapse reported to have occurred in the rear of the building. Click here to view the area.
The fire was first reported around 3:15 a.m. inside what was the Thomas Buck Hosiery Factory, which has been abandoned since the mid 1970s. Firefighters arrived on the scene to find heavy fire showing from all six floors of the building. Residents describe hearing explosions coming from inside the factory inferno.
Hot embers whipped up in strong winds started fires at six nearby homes and several surrounding businesses, including the furniture store. Firefighters were trying to extinguish the flames inside the furniture store when a rear wall collapsed, trapping five firefighters.
One of the firefighters managed to free himself but four others were trapped inside for several hours until they were finally pulled from the rubble.
Chicago Fire Commissioner Robert Hoff plans to announce his resignation on Thursday, the head of the firefighters union said Wednesday night.
Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2 President Thomas Ryan announced Hoff’s planned departure at a union meeting. Ryan told fire union members that Hoff had told him “it was time to go.”
Another source familiar with the situation called Hoff's resignation “imminent” and said it is for personal reasons, not because of any policy differences with new Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Hoff, 56, is a third generation Chicago firefighter whose father was killed in the line of duty. He chose to retire — and go out on his own terms — on the 50th anniversary of his father’s death.
Sources said the decision was his. The mayor did not force him out.
“Thirty-five years is long enough. He wants to go teach firemen and keep them safe. That’s what he wants to do,” said a source close to the commissioner.
Hoff, a third-generation hero firefighter, was appointed by then-Mayor Richard Daley to lead the department in June 2010. Hoff was popular with the rank and file.
Hoff, a fire veteran of more than 30 years, twice was awarded the department's top honor for bravery. In 1992, he rescued elderly residents from burning buildings following a gas explosion. In 1997, he saved 4-year-old twin boys from an Englewood building fire. Hoff also spent 21 days in a burn unit after suffering injuries fighting a fire in 1984.
STATEMENT REGARDING RETIREMENT OF COMMISSIONER HOFF
"On behalf of the Chicago Fire Fighters' Union,we wish Commissioner Hoff well in his retirement. He was a public servant of unquestionable integrity with a passionate and unwavering commitment to fire safety for the public-at-large as well as for rank-and-file firefighters and paramedics. He always stood-up for what he believed in and was never afraid to speak his mind. He was the unique leader who was able to cut budgets while never sacrificing vital resources or staffing,and as a result Chicago firefighters and paramedics have the fastest response time of any city in the nation. That is a legacy to be proud of. Chicago is truly a better and safer city because of his leadership and public service."
Tom Ryan President Chicago Fire Fighters' Union,Local 2
For the past week a story has been brewing in Estero, Florida where firefighters, who had posed for a 2011 charity calendar, had been ordered on December 8th to attend a fundraiser at a private home and act as shirtless bartenders for a group of women. According to the news stories, the firefighters from Station 42 were on-duty and attended the event in a staff car leaving the fire engine out of service. The reports indicate the firefighters opted to add tank tops instead of just wearing bunker pants and suspenders.
Gathering what I can on the Internet, it appears the local fire commission is extending the life of this story. They are only now addressing important questions that should have been made clear a week ago. They are also doing it in a haphazard way that will help to keep this story in front of the public. Instead the goal from the start should have been to get the bad news out and done with you so you can move on. Declaring it a dead issue, as one reporter quotes officials, is not going to stop the reporters from knocking at your door.
It appears the story was first reported on December 13 (click here to watch it). Fire Chief Scott Vanderbrook talked with a reporter and the Fire Commission last Tuesday night. The chief made the case that as long as the firefighters weren't consuming the alcohol it wasn't a problem. The chief also indicated that in the past 30 days they had 42 instances of fire stations being closed for fundraisers, pub ed and training.
Station 42 was shut down for a few hours and the firefighters, who were also on duty, attended the event at a resident's home to serve alcohol. "They were still available for calls and were in a staff vehicle. We just took the truck out of service."
Chief Vanderbrook told the Fire Commission about the issue during Tuesday night's meeting, but only told them about the closing of the fire station for a couple of hours and not about the firefighters going topless or serving alcohol.
The commission all said they did not think that Vanderbrook did anything wrong and even decided to give him a 5% raise after the discussion about the fundraiser.
And then there was more coverage yesterday from both WFXTV (click here for the video) and WBBH-TV (above). In these reports union official Roberto Medina makes the case that firefighters felt like puppets and that an investigation should be done because the fire commissioners do not have a complete story. In fact, the commissioners reaction to reporters indicate that a week after this story first made news they still don't have answers to some basic questions.
Fox 4 tried to contact the chairman of the Estero fire commission, Richard Schweers, to see if that would be a violation. He said he did not know alcohol was served, but would not grant us an interview.
We also reached out to Commissioner Frank Messana who also said he too was unaware of alcohol being served at the fundraiser. He said that does raise some serious questions about whether that type of behavior is acceptable and that it should be brought before the commission.
But Schweers denies the firefighters had any "participation with" alcohol at the party, although he refused to clarify whether that included serving alcohol at the event.
Schweers says that could be grounds for dismissal.
"They would be in deep trouble," says Schweers.
But Medina says the firefighters served alcohol at the direction of the fire chief.
"He probably needs to do an investigation himself and possibly interview these individuals," says Medina.
In my presentation today at FRI I played an interview with Detroit Fire Commissioner Donald Austin contrasting his style with the two previous commissioners who would run and hide when the press, and particularly reporter Charlie LeDuff, came knocking. Getting back to the hotel I was alerted to this this video posted yesterday of Commissioner Austin visiting a public affairs program on LeDuff's TV station, WJBK-TV. The commissioner was there (as was LeDuff) to address the potentially controversial topic of allowing some vacant structures that catch fire to burn rather than have firefighters try to extinguish them.
Whether you agree with his plan or not Commissioner Austin does a good job of explaining the various factors involved in the risk analysis firefighter's face every day and why he is renewing and refining a policy that surfaced after the death of Firefighter Walt Harris who died fighting a fire in a vacant house.
As I said in the session today, having a commissioner in Detroit willing to talk bluntly and directly when there is controversy will not solve all of Detroit's many problems, but it will put them on the path of repairing the image issues that have plagued the fire department for a long time.
This is an example of what not to do when the press comes knocking at your door with a story impacting your department’s reputation. Leaders and members of the Elmont Fire Department made it clear they do not believe they have to answer questions about the department’s logo and allegations that there is a Confederate flag on display inside the firehouse.
My guess is that’s not going to make this story go away. If you have a defensible position then come out clearly with your message defending your actions. If it is indefensible change your policy, handle the problem and move on. Ignoring, running from and hiding from reporters and cameras will fail to serve you almost every time. It makes a bad situation worse and a one day story into a multi-part series.
The Elmont Fire Department on Long Island is responsible for about 35,000 residents, most of whom are black. Yet if you look at the logo for Elmont Engine Company 3 you will notice a consistent symbol — a symbol that looks like the confederate flag.
On Engine Company 3’s patches and former fire truck a logo shows a firefighter wearing what looks like confederate flag shorts. On the new fire truck, a skull is wearing what looks like a confederate flag bandanna.
We contacted the Elmont Fire Department, but they declined an on camera interview. Commissioner Ralph Esposito, who is in charge of Engine Company 3, at first declined to give his last name, then said the engine company had a long tradition going back “1924.” He said the flag in the logo was an “American flag,” then threatened legal action.
A black community leader who looked into the matter said the department told her the flag was used because the company is known as the rebels.
We went to the firehouse to get some answers. When we asked if there was a Confederate flag inside of the firehouse the firefighters did not say anything and quickly shut the garage door which was open.
The Elmont Fire Department is a volunteer fire department but funded by taxpayers. Officials from the town of Hempsted, which overseas Elmont, say they have no control over the Elmont Fire Department because it is the Fire Commissioners who make all the decisions.
Several calls made to some Elmont Fire Commissioners by NBC New York were never returned.
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing made it pretty clear today that, while a lot was happening with Detroit fire and EMS services that left him unhappy, the most recent story was the final straw. It was another one by WJBK-TV reporter Charlie LeDuff. LeDuff and his advocacy, in your face style of journalism, clearly has had influence in Detroit. This story was about a wallet apparently taken during a CO alarm run at a citizen’s home that ended up in the quarters of Engine 40 and how the incident was handled by the department.
Reporter LeDuff used internal documents and information from sources to indicate there was a cover-up about the stolen wallet that extended all of the way to the office of Commissioner James Mack. Mayor Bing apparently found some credence to the TV news report. A day after the story aired the mayor requested and received the resignations of Mack and Deputy Fire Commissioner Seth Doyle.
Many of us were reminded of an important truth in life from the Watergate conspiracy of the 1970s. It is worth repeating for those who have forgotten or are too young and don’t know their history: The cover-up is worse than the crime.
Reading the reports written at various levels in this specific case you could come away with the impression there were members of Engine 40 sincere about making this family whole. They collected $150 to cover the cash and driver’s permit taken from the wallet. But you could also be left with a more sinister view of the reports.
Just two days ago I learned from an old friend who is a veteran fire officer in the Washington area that when he handled situations like this or wrote reports he always applied the “Dave Statter test”. He would ask himself, “How would this look if Statter got a hold of it and put it on Channel 9 News?”.
While I was flattered learning this after all these years, I know many other smart leaders have done similar things, but without using my name. I work for someone who applies the “Washington Post” test. In Detroit, if anyone was on the ball about this they would have used the “Charlie LeDuff test”. How would these reports look if LeDuff got them?
They found out that answer the hard way.
Reading through the reports the first thing that sticks out to me is that it is likely a crime was committed. Where did the fire department engage the police in this process? Also, a less charitable review of the reports could leave the perception for some that the cash given to the family was hush money.
On top of giving, at the very least, the impression of a cover-up, and then failing to apply the “Charlie LeDuff test”, Mayor Bing pointed out another major mistake by Commissioner Mack: He failed to keep his boss informed.
If you are a fire commissioner, chief or leader of any organization, you have stakeholders. Those stakeholders, especially your boss, should not first learn of bad news from a reporter or watch it on TV. If Commissioner Mack did not know prior to yesterday this should be SOP, he and the rest of Detroit know it now.
Let’s face it, things like a firefighter stealing a wallet happen in the fire service and everywhere else in life. If that was all this story was, Detroit most likely would not be looking for a new fire commissioner. But by compounding the original crime with people at every level of the Detroit Fire Department apparently failing to take appropriate action and then not telling the big boss, it becomes a very different type of story.
Here’s the advice from the person the “Dave Statter test” was named for. When the hint of a crime occurs in your department, take the appropriate action. If there has already been a cover-up, don’t compound it. And again, take appropriate action. Also, make sure you tell your boss about it. Then go put it out to the news media yourself with as much information as possible to get this story behind you. Don’t wait for Charlie LeDuff to knock on your door or call your boss.
This way the citizens will be better served and you will have a getter chance of getting a paycheck every two weeks.
Sources said the demotion of Chief John Peruggia relates directly to the department’s problems in responding to the storm.
His replacement, Abdo Nahmod, captained the first combined Fire-EMS station, in Rossville, in 2003-04. Most recently, Nahmod has been deputy assistant chief overseeing the department’s Emergency Medical Dispatch.
“Despite Chief Peruggia’s dedicated service to this department, I felt new leadership was needed at this time,” said Cassano, a resident of Huguenot. “Last week’s blizzard presented tremendous challenges for the department that are currently being addressed with an eye toward improving performance.”
A source told the Advance that a rumored 70 percent of FDNY ambulances working in the storm got stuck in the snow, while private ambulance companies fared far better. At one point, there was a backlog of more than 1,300 emergency calls for assistance. In the case of a woman with a broken ankle, the wait stretched to 30 hours, and a child born unconscious at home was declared dead later at the hospital.
“We didn’t do the job we had wanted to do, that I wanted to do and everybody else wanted to do,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said.
Mr. Peruggia did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment Wednesday. But Patrick Bahnken, president of the Uniformed E.M.T.’s, Paramedics and Fire Inspectors F.D.N.Y., said Mr. Peruggia was being blamed for mistakes that were not in his control.
“I believe that there were some system failures that were certainly beyond his pay grade, and that he simply did not have the authority to make decisions or not make decisions,” he said. “Ultimately I am sure that the commissioner is going to continue to do a thorough review, and we anxiously await the final report when the commissioner is prepared to issue it. Certainly we will be looking at it very carefully.”
The breakdown came as the city is in the midst of overhauling its fragile 911 system — which is still using outdated radio and dispatch equipment — a project years in the making that is behind schedule and that city officials have said would provide dispatchers with better technology.
Federal prosecutors have also opened an investigation into the response by the Sanitation Department amid allegations of a work slowdown. But Mayor Bloomberg — despite his strong criticism of the E.M.S. response — has defended the Sanitation Department, denying that any intentional slowdown occurred. The sanitation commissioner, John J. Doherty, and the heads of the sanitation unions have also disputed allegations that workers deliberately botched the cleanup.
A person familiar with the matter said Mr. Peruggia also has been the subject of a Conflicts of Interest Board probe in connection with allegations he took a free trip from a vendor that does business with the FDNY. Mr. Peruggia is accepting the board’s findings and is expected to be fined, the person said.
Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg voiced enormous dismay with the performance of the 911 system during the storm. “We take our emergency life-saving responsibilities very seriously and I’m extremely dissatisfied with the way our emergency-response systems performed,” he said a week ago Wednesday.The mayor said the city’s 911 system became overwhelmed by the deluge of calls. On Monday, the city received more than 49,400 calls to 911, the sixth-largest volume in history, resulting that night in a backlog of roughly 1,700 calls to the NYPD and FDNY. He ordered a comprehensive review of the 911 call-taking and dispatch functions, as some of the loved ones of those who died have taken to the airwaves to express their grief and anger at the city’s sluggish response to the storm.
The administration is examining, among other things, whether ambulances should have taken different routes, and whether emergency personnel should have parked farther away from scenes and walked.
Firefighter Christopher Wheatley died early this morning after falling from a ladder while on the scene of a grease fire in Chicago’s West Loop area. Here are excerpts from the news coverage.
Chicago Fire Department photo of Firefighter Christopher Wheatley.
A Chicago firefighter died this morning after he fell from a ladder while fighting a fire at a West Loop restaurant.
Christopher Wheatley, 31, was carrying an ax and a hose up a ladder at the Avec restaurant, 615 W. Randolph, when he fell about 35 feet around 12:30 a.m., according to Fire Cmsr. Robert Hoff.
He was taken in very critical condition to Stroger Hospital and was pronounced dead there at 1:19 a.m.
Dozens of police and fire cars, their lights flashing, lined the streets as Ambulance 15 carried Wheatley’s body to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Officers silently saluted.
“Firefighter Christopher Wheatly was carrying his equipment when he was making his way up . He slipped and fell to the ground. They worked to save his life, but it was too late. Firefighter Chris Wheatly was assigned to Truck 2. He left a mother, father, a sister, and a fiance. He was one of our finest, and that’s all I can say for right now.”
Hoff continued, “He was very well-liked, he was a paramedic, he always had a smile on his face. He was one of our best.”
The fire department formed a convoy to escort Wheatley’s body to the morgue. Police cars, their blue lights flashing, lined the street as Ambulance 15 carried Wheatley’s body to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Officers saluted.
Hoff said Wheatley came to the fire department in 2000 as a paramedic and became a firefighter in 2008. The source said he had a fiance.
Wheatley is the last firefighter to die in the line of duty since 2008. Firefighter William Grant was killed when a school bus struck the fire truck he was on.
See our previous coverage of this story here and here.
Chester City, Pennsylvania Firefighter James Krapf is getting quite a bit of publicity about his refusal to remove an American flag sticker from his locker. He was suspended for a second day after refusing to follow the directive from Fire Commissioner James Johnson to remove the flag.
Now the firefighter whose locker art brought the order to remove all decorations has started wearing a hat with a flag patch stitched upside-down. The flag is normally only flown in that fashion to symbol distress, but it has also been used as a form of protest. Here are excerpts from Joelle Farrell’s latest article at Philly.com.
Over the summer, Chester Fire Commissioner James Johnson banned all decorations on locker doors after firefighters argued over the posting of a cartoon at Fire Station No. 2 that some found offensive. Robert Butler, a black firefighter who posted the cartoon on his locker as a protest, was suspended without pay for a day when he replaced the cartoon with a sign that read, “Black man has no free speech.”
The directive to clear the lockers took effect Aug. 29 but was not enforced until last week. Firefighter James Krapf was suspended without pay Thursday and Friday after he refused to remove the flag decal from his locker. He is scheduled to meet with Johnson tomorrow.
Butler wore a knit cap with an upside-down flag yesterday. He said he was not protesting the federal government but wore it “as the common meaning” of distress.
Firefighters who complained to the commissioner were told that no departmental rule barred Butler from wearing the flag upside down, said Stacy Landrum, president of the Chester firefighters union.
Chester City, Pennsylvania Firefighter James Krapf is getting a second day of suspension for refusing to remove an American flag sticker from his locker. Fire Commissioner James Johnson is not backing down from his order that all decorations be removed from the outside of lockers. He talked to a reporter at WCAU-TV:
“We wear the American flag on our uniform…it’s flying outside that station,” he said. “It is not about the American flag or patriotism.”
For his part, Krapf said it was “a matter of pride”.
The clash over the flag started as an attempt to squash arguments in the firehouse. Johnson directed all 61 firefighters to clear the outside of the lockers this summer after a black firefighter posted a cartoon that some found offensive.
The firefighter, Robert Butler, said today that he posted the cartoon, which showed two black men and included language that could be considered racial slurs, as a protest. Butler, 48, who is black, said he feels that some white firefighters have tried to get him in trouble during his 15 years with the department.
Johnson, who is also black, removed the cartoon after another firefighter complained. Butler then posted a sign that read, “Black man has no free speech.”
Butler was suspended for a day when he refused to remove the sign. He took it down the following day.The directive, which ordered firefighters to keep the outside of lockers “free of alteration,” was announced Aug. 14 and went into effect Aug. 29. Firefighters can keep family photos and other personal items inside the lockers.
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