In defense of not sending the closest fire engine. Despite triple fatal apartment fire Ft. Wayne’s chief still believes in his city’s dispatch policy.
Read and watch the story from WANE-TV
Click here for our previous coverage of the issue
A month ago we told you about the dispute between Fort Wayne Fire Department Chief Pete Kelly and Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries. Chief Kelly basically told the sheriff to mind his own business after Fries questioned Fort Wayne’s decision not to dispatch volunteer firefighters to an apartment fire in a complex that backs up to their fire station. Three young women eventually died from that fire.
Looking back, Chief Kelly tells WANE-TV he still stands by the city’s dispatch policy saying the closest isn’t always the best.
The nearest Fort Wayne station is 1.5 miles away. The closest of two Aboite Township stations abuts the Willows of Coventry apartments.
Pointing out that the volunteer station is unmanned, the chief believes the six-minute response time of his closest engine would be faster.
Here are excerpts from the story:
“They’re not in the engine houses,” explained Kelly, while underscoring the dependable work of the volunteer staff in Aboite. “When a fire call comes in, someone has to go the engine house and get a rig.”
Kelly went on to explain that volunteers either meet the apparatus at the scene of a fire, or go the engine first. Both would take longer to do than it would take Fort Wayne Firefighters to report to a scene with a full compliment of firefighters from a fully-staffed, 24/7 station.
But what is in the harm of dispatching both? Newschannel 15 asked Chief Kelly if it would hinder the city’s response to have volunteer crews showing up to a fire before his crews when possible.
“There is a danger in sending too many people on some of these” said Kelly.
Despite safety precautions, emergency vehicles screaming to scenes through traffic have dangerous potential. The Chief says, that is not something you can deny.
Another factor in dispatching: leaving areas under served.
“If we send everyone to something, what we’re doing is robbing other areas of resources,” said Kelly. The same is true if the department requested help from surrounding departments.
Kelly says with newly annexed Aboite area, three new city fire stations have been built, and are always manned. He’s proud of the city-county mutual response agreement in place. It allows city crews to call in county crews for an extra hand, or extra equipment and vice versa.
However, Kelly insists, one jurisdiction or the other has to be designated for the initial response.
