Chief Defends Dispatch Protocol

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - A month after an apartment fire killed three young women, Newschannel 15 has learned the nearest fire station to the complex was not included in the response. Fort Wayne Fire Chief Pete Kelly is defending the city's dispatch protocol that called for the response.

It's a sensitive subject, especially for those who live in newly annexed areas of Fort Wayne. Many of those areas have county volunteer fire stations that otherwise would have responded to what are now "city fires". However, those volunteer stations are not included on initial calls from within city limits. Kelly says he's comfortable with that, and he thinks residents should be too.

When calls of a fire at the WIllows of Coventry Apartments came in on January 23rd, dispatchers following protocol first sent three stations worth of full-time firefighters: Station #18 at the intersection of Liberty Mills and Homestead Road, about a mile and half away from the fire, Station #19 at Scott and Covington Roads and Station #17 at Getz and Constitution.

Dispatchers would send additional city crews after that, but Aboite Township's volunteer firefighters were never called. They operate out of two unmanned stations in the area, one of which shares a property line with the Willows of Coventry Apartment. Kelly explains why he believes, though Aboite had the closest station, it would not have had the best response.

"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.

Fort Wayne fire crews were on scene at that Willows of Coventry within about six minutes. Chief Kelly does not believe a full volunteer department could have gotten on scene any faster.