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Fawn Lake resident Sheryl Bennett formed the Spotsylvania Coalition for 24/7 Fire and Emergency Services |
By DAN TELVOCK
Sheryl Bennett has seen her share of shortcomings in Spotsylvania County's fire and rescue system.
The Fawn Lake resident founded the Spotsylvania Coalition for 24/7 Fire and Emergency Services in 2004, after watching a neighbor's home burn down because it took crews an "agonizing" 18 minutes to respond to the 911 call.
In 2002, her husband, Robert, needed an ambulance for a heart condition, but it took crews more than 15 minutes to respond to her home in the afternoon, she said.
On both occasions, the closest station, Wilderness Fire and Rescue, was not staffed.
Six years later, the county's combined system of volunteers and paid personnel failed to meet its goal of staffing all 10 stations around the clock by 2009. The system's leaders continue to work toward having all stations manned around the clock by 2011.
But that's not why Bennett was recently back in front of fire and rescue officials. Bennett said when she read The Free Lance-Star's reports on the Feb. 5 fire on Spotswood Furnace Road that killed local actress and singer Sandy Hill, she had flashbacks.
"Knowing what I do know, and I am certainly no expert in fighting fires, but the confusion that I heard as a citizen troubled me," she said, after listening to the dispatch recordings of the fire on newspaper's Web site, fredericksburg.com.
The questions raised by Hill's death aren't about response times. They center on what happened after Chancellorsville Volunteer Fire and Rescue units arrived.
The first volunteers arrived to the scene within four minutes of the 911 call.
But it took about 12 minutes for crews to locate and rescue a teenager trapped in a first-floor bedroom.
Firefighters searched the second floor of the 2,000-square-foot Cape Cod for about 20 minutes before they found Hill facedown in her second-floor bedroom, even though she had been on the phone with a 911 dispatcher providing directions. By the time crews reached her, she was unresponsive and not breathing.
Hill, 43, is believed to have died from breathing in smoke.
Kevin Dillard, Chancellor's administrative chief, released a report on the incident to The Free Lance-Star last week, more than two months after the fatal fire. The report is a requirement under the county's operating procedures.
Chancellor Assistant Chief Tony Dennis, who was in charge of the fire scene that early morning, acknowledges in the report that additional training of the volunteers is needed on search and rescue tactics. That was one of five recommendations Dennis made in that report.
Fire and Rescue Chief Chris Eudailey on March 12 launched an internal investigation of the response to the Feb. 5 fire. Last week, he said the review team should finish its work within a month.
'WAITING AND WATCHING'
The Fire and Rescue Commission, which advises the Board of Supervisors, met Wednesday for the first time since the Feb. 5 fire. Bennett spoke during the public-comment period.
"In light of recent tragic events, I hope that this body will respond to prove commitment to your mission and charter," she said to the commission. "I admonish you to take some relevant action."
Bennett said that at the very least the combined system should follow one set of protocols. Right now, there are at least two different operating procedures for paid and volunteer personnel, and Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue in February 2009 was working on developing its own.
Numerous fire and rescue officials and experts from across the nation interviewed by The Free Lance-Star said having more than one set of operating procedures is unusual.
On Wednesday, the commission had one of its shortest meetings ever, adjourning after just 20 minutes.
Eudailey was the only commission member who spoke about the Feb. 5 fire. He was critical of the post-incident reporting from the 45 volunteers who responded.
He said the lack of information in the federally required paperwork made it more difficult and time consuming for the fire marshal to determine the cause and origin of the blaze.
"As you all know, reporting has been a topic at commission meetings for some time and needs to be addressed in a proactive manner by all agencies," he said.
The fire marshal ultimately concluded that the cause of the fire was a small space heater that ignited a box on the first-floor hallway.
The remaining four commission members, three of whom are volunteer leaders and the other a county resident, remained silent. Ten minutes later, the meeting was adjourned.
Bennett warned commission members at the meeting that "the citizens of Spotsylvania are waiting and watching."
Their silence bothered her. "It didn't seem to be a priority until there is a crisis," Bennett said during an interview. "I would like to see them united as a body willing to address this issue."
Dan Telvock: 540/374-5438
Email: dtelvock@freelancestar.com
