Detroit firefighters took too long and didn’t have the proper equipment to save a man from a house fire in Woodbridge early this morning. Two people also were injured.
The closest fire engine, #1, which protects downtown, arrived 12 minutes after being dispatched because their alarm system didn’t work for the second time this month. The fire was only 1.6 miles from Engine #1’s quarters.
“Engine 1 is out of service, out of radio contact,” a dispatcher alerted the chief as other fire companies rushed to the house at 4114 Commonwealth near W. Alexandrine.
Although 911 callers warned that the house was occupied at 1:20 a.m., dispatchers sent a truck with a nonfunctioning aerial ladder, which is used to rescue people. Ladder #20 was using a replacement rig after becoming the sixth ladder truck in six days to go out of service for repairs.
By the time Engine #1 arrived in its new rig, the house was engulfed in flames, prompting the chief to call a second-alarm.
“I have civilians inside,” the chief radioed to dispatchers.
Two of the occupants managed to get out, but one of them, a 73-year-old man named Doug, died.
The first of three engines, which are critical because they pump water to extinguish fires, arrived eight minutes after the call. The third engine, #27, arrived 19 minutes after the call.
Executive Fire Commissioner Edsel Jenkins told the media last month that all fire engines and trucks would arrive within seven minutes of being called after the city spent $4.5 million on 10 new fire engine.
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Jenkins also disputed our 18-month investigation into the fire department’s troubled fleet, saying the rigs are “up to snuff.”
Downtown and Midtown were left without immediate fire protection while firefighters battled the Woodbridge fire.
It’s unclear why Engine #1 was still having problems with its alarm system, especially after firefighters missed a call on Sept. 2.
Motor City Muckraker is awaiting a response from Mayor Mike Duggan’s office and the fire department.
Fires broke out in seven houses between midnight and 3:30 a.m. this morning.
1 dead in house blaze after firefighters’ alarm malfunctioned – again added by Steve Neavling on
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Steve Neavling
Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.
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