TOP STORY: “Town Council, Administrator, Fire Chief have failed residents… nothing short of reckless” – Update: Middletown Meeting Set

This week the top story in terms of readership was this story about the fire departments and their preparedness to respond to our medical and fire emergencies. Two unique things about this story: first, it was the #1 story ever since RINewsToday has been published (almost 1 year): second, the dialogue will continue as a meeting has been called for Monday, Jan. 6th in Middletown. Here is this announcement, our story follows…

Middletown Fire Questions Response Times/Availability

A fire on New Year’s Eve day in a small duplex home in Middletown had a father rushing in to save his daughter who was inside the home. Daughter and father were both burned, and the father’s actions were credited with saving the life of his daughter, Trinity. Trinity had turned 11 on Christmas Day.

The Middletown story questioning fire response times follows at least two recent similar stories where fire departments were on “black out” times – when a station is “off” for the night, with other departments covering, as a cost-saving measure. One incident, with a fatal outcome, was in Pawtucket, the other, with another fatal outcome, was in New Bedford.

President of the Rhode Island State Association of Fire Fighters speaks out:

When asked for comment on the increasing concern of response times and coverage, the President of the Rhode Island State Association of Fire Fighters, Joseph Andriole, sent this statement to RINewsToday.com:

“We have been engaged in a protracted arbitration with the Town of Middletown over the issue of Fire Fighter staffing. Yesterday’s fire is a scary example of what we have been telling the Town for a very long time but to no avail.

The Fire Department staffing in Middletown is totally inadequate, the staffing has been at the same levels in that Town for well over thirty (30) years, while the emergency incidents have tripled, straining the Department’s resources to the breaking point.

The Town Council, Town Administrator and Fire Chief have failed the residents and the Fire Fighters of that community, their actions have been nothing short of reckless. The Town leaders refuse to negotiate a solution to this problem; instead they rather pay hundreds of thousands of dollars on litigation rather than fixing the public safety crisis.

We all were extremely lucky; the events yesterday could have easily resulted in the loss of life. It took resource from two other communities to handle this incident, what would have happened if they weren’t available? This is grossly unacceptable. Town leaders need to stop playing politics with public safety and start listening to the people who do their best to provide that safety to the community, the Fire Fighters.

I hope the events yesterday can be a wake-up call for Town leaders to do the right thing and to work collaboratively with the Fire Fighters to fix this public safety problem.”

Joseph A. Andriole, President & Business Agent, Rhode Island State Association of Fire Fighters

More details on Middletown response:

From reports NewportRI.com (https://www.newportri.com/news/20191231/three-people-hospitalized-following-fire-at-middletown-home):

“Middletown Car 1 and Car 3 arrived to find heavy smoke and fire issuing from 6A Woolsey Road,” Faerber said in the press release. “The occupants of the residence were outside of the house prior to Fire Department arrival.”

The Newport Fire Department dispatched two cars (the chief and on-duty deputy chief), Engine 1, Rescue 1, special hazards, Rescue 2 and a ladder truck to the scene, Newport Fire Deputy Chief Drew Elder said Tuesday.

“Newport Engine 1 initiated fire knockdown,” Faerber said in the press release.

From a report on WPRI-Ch.12  (https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/east-bay/3-people-including-child-hurt-in-middletown-fire/) :  “Middletown Fire Chief says that his crews were at a medical emergency when the fire broke out around 11:15 a.m. on Woolsey Road Tuesday morning… Newport engines were the first to arrive to fight the flames that destroyed one of the homes in the two-unit duplex.

From a report on WJAR, NBC10  (https://turnto10.com/news/local/man-daughter-injured-in-middletown-house-fire),  “…there was criticism over how long it took fire trucks to arrive. It took a long time for the fire department to get here,” neighbor Chelsea Perry told NBC 10. Middletown Fire Chief Peter Faerber says he got there in his car in three minutes and the victims were already out of the house. But the town’s only fire truck and rescue were at another call, and so the first fire truck to arrive was from Newport. …“It may have extended the response time. The nearest engine came from Newport. It may have extended it by a couple minutes,” Faerber said…. The firefighters union says it’s been fighting the town for more staffing, and argues the department is relying too much on other towns to help out….“We aren’t adequately able to take care of all the calls that we receive in the town. This fire today was an example of that. All of our personnel were out at one call because that’s all we’re really capable of handling,” Middletown firefighters union president John Jordan told NBC 10.

Recent fires point to similar staffing issues, response delays, and station “blackout days”, as cost savings measures:

New Bedford Fire

From ABC6 report: (https://www.abc6.com/story/41506667/recent-fatal-fire-renews-concerns-over-firefighter-response-time) – “The closest engine to the fire on Myrtle Street Saturday night that killed 88-year-old Robert Seamans was out of service…  “It took four minutes from the original 9-1-1 call. Instead of this one that was shut down – it could have been a minute, it could have been less,” said Fire Union President Bill Sylvia.

Pawtucket Fire

From NBC10 report: (https://turnto10.com/news/local/christmas-eve-house-fire-in-pawtucket-displaces-family-injures-three) – While blackouts were not referenced in the recent Pawtucket fire, there was this statement which spoke to the importance of rapid access: “Firefighters managed to keep the flames from spreading, but a small minivan parked in the back was burned….(Pawtucket Fire Dept Chief) Lang said a crew had been responding to a medical call across the city, so it took some time for other firefighters to arrive.”

Why Did You Send A Fire Truck?

From RINewsToday, 12/31/19: (https://rinewstoday.com/why-did-you-send-a-fire-truck/) – Michael Morse who spent 23 years as a firefighter/EMT with the Providence Fire Department before retiring in 2013 as Captain, Rescue Co. 5., wrote an article to explain why the response to a medical emergency is sometimes with a fire truck and not a rescue unit. While some residents “think they are padding the numbers” by responding with a fire vehicle, instead of a rescue, Morse notes that “Good firefighters are also good medical providers. We respond when the tones hit, we do not decide who, why, or when those tones go off. It is far better to have more help than you need, than to need help, and not have enough people to give it”.

Photo: NBC10