Citing a new report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Toledo fire union officials charge that department staffing policies contributed to the deaths of two firefighters in the line of duty last year. Union leaders say they want Fire Chief Luis Santiago held accountable for what they call a flawed system.
Such serious allegations demand the greatest care and sensitivity by those who make them. But if their charges are validated by an independent review, city officials will have to take immediate action.
Jeff Romstadt, the president of Toledo Firefighters Local 92, says the fire department’s elimination in 2012 of a full-time safety officer made working conditions unsafe. Safety officers conduct a perimeter check of a burning building, monitor changes in the condition of a fire, and supervise the overall safety of firefighters.
The federal report, issued last week, concludes that the lack of a safety officer contributed to the deaths of Privates Stephen Machcinski and James Dickman as they battled a fire on Jan. 26, 2014, at a two-story apartment building in North Toledo. The report recommends the reinstatement of the full-time safety officer.
Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson has commissioned an independent review of the federal report, which concluded that several other department practices also contributed to the firefighters’ deaths. The mayor and City Council must give close attention both to the report and the fire department’s response.
Before 2012, the fire department had three full-time safety officers, one per shift, and a fourth who filled in as needed. These officers assist firefighters who are inside a dwelling and may not be able to determine that a blaze’s conditions have changed.
The full-time positions were redefined to provide more officers trained in safety matters, Toledo Fire Department spokesman Lt. Matthew Hertzfeld said. All fire officers, lieutenants and captains, now get in-house safety-officer training, he said.
The firefighters’ union balked at the change, claiming it created unsafe working conditions. Mr. Romstadt told The Blade’s editorial page that in 2013, he personally delivered a letter to Chief Santiago seeking the return of the safety officer’s position that had been eliminated.
In June, 2014, after the firefighters’ deaths, that position was again made full time. Chief Santiago has said he cannot discuss the matter because a gag order is in place for criminal proceedings arising from the fatal fire.
The owner of the building where Privates Machcinski and Dickman died is accused of setting the fire. He is charged with murder, arson, and evidence tampering; the charges carry death-penalty specifications. His trial is pending.
“If somebody set that fire and that’s proven, they should be prosecuted to the fullest,” Mr. Romstadt said. “If we wouldn’t have had a fire, we wouldn’t have lost our two brothers. But we are asking that the [fire department] administration also be held accountable for the policies and procedures that are in place for our safety. There has to be some accountability.”
If the union’s charges of safety lapses within the Toledo Fire Department are validated, the mayor and council must correct them immediately, regardless of cost. The lives of firefighters — and city residents — are at stake.
First Published May 7, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
