LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letter on department’s safety procedures and protective clothing requirements prompts response
In the February 1987 “Letters to the Editor” section, Ray W. Rugh of Milton, Pa., comments on the “Backdraft” article by John Bowen, which appeared in the October 1986 issue. Mr. Rugh poses several questions and offers personal comments on the fire described in the article. This fire resulted in the death of Lieutenant Nelson Taylor of the City of Baltimore (Md.) Fire Department.
Mr. Rugh obviously thinks he is qualified to comment as an expert on firefighting and rescue operations in general, and on Baltimore City’s tactics specifically. Therefore, as the official spokesperson for the Baltimore City Fire Department, I feel I must respond to Mr. Rugh’s series of questions.
First, Mr. Rugh questions why the officer shown in the picture on page 51 in the October 1986 issue was not wearing turnout pants, boots, helmet, or self-contained breathing apparatus. He also suggests that if the officer had been properly protected, he would not have been burned severely, or maybe not at all. He could very well be right.
The answer, simply enough, is in the picture. The officer who is shown being carried from the fire building is not Lieutenant Taylor but Captain Fugate, assigned to Truck Company #10. At the time of the incident, truck company members of the department were not required to wear turnout pants or boots while engaged in exterior truck company operations.
Captain Fugate’s company was operating in the front of the fire building. Lieutenant Taylor was operating at the rear of the fire building. When Captain Fugate was informed that Lieutenant Taylor was missing and thought to be in the basement of the fire building, he and several other members immediately entered the basement through the front cellar windows and began searching for their fallen comrade.
When Captain Fugate entered the basement, he was wearing a turnout coat, helmet, gloves, and SCBA. His station uniform is a fire-resistant 100 percent cotton material supplied by the fire department. After Lieutenant Taylor was located and removed from the fire building, Captain Fugate became exhausted. His SCBA and helmet were removed in the basement and he was helped outside by fellow firefighters. Captain Fugate was exhausted but had no physical injuries.
Lieutenant Taylor, who lost his life in the fire, was wearing his turnout coat, helmet, gloves, SCBA, and threequarter boots, as required by department regulations at the time of the incident. The answer to Mr. Rugh’s final question as to why fellow firefighters in the picture did not go in by now should be obvious. The picture in the article was taken long after Lieutenant Taylor had been located and removed to an area hospital and the fire had been extinguished.
Mr. Rugh’s comments on the firefighting capabilities of the Baltimore City Fire Department and its use of provided protective clothing are as ludicrous as his well-thought-out series of “whys.”
Mr. Rugh compared the level of safety of the Baltimore City Fire Department to that of neighboring fire departments in Baltimore County. We in the city fire department recognize the dedicated professionalism of our brothers in the adjacent counties in the Baltimore area.
For the record, however, members of our department have been required to wear turnout pants and boots as part of their protective gear since before I became a member in November 1950. At that time, the equipment was purchased at the member’s expense. At the time of Lieutenant Taylor’s untimely death in November 1985, the Baltimore County Fire Department neither provided nor required its members to purchase turnout pants. However, in March 1986, that department began distributing pants and boots to its members and required their use.
After a lengthy evaluation period, we in the Baltimore City Fire Department also mandated the use of bunker pants and boots as part of our personal protection ensemble.
The Baltimore City Fire Department is represented by two local unions of the International Association of Fire Fighters. A joint safety committee, composed of three members from each local and three high-level chief officers, meets regularly. Several safety and health procedures have been adopted as a result of the committee’s recommendations.
It seems that Mr. Rugh travels extensively and does not confine his critical analysis of professional firefighters to the continental United States. Although the Baltimore City Fire Department is not concerned with Ray W. Rugh’s opinions, we are mystified that a fire service-oriented person would sieze upon the tragic experience of any jurisdiction to air his biased views.
As a professional fire officer and the spokesperson for the Baltimore City Fire Department, I do not make comments or put into print my views until I have thoroughly investigated and determined the facts. I believe Mr. Rugh should do the same.
Patrick P. Flynn Public Information Officer Baltimore City hire Department Baltimore, Mil.
Apparatus safety lesson
How little we learn from the tragic mistakes of others, no matter how much publicity an incident receives. We all remember the Massachusetts firefighter who fell off an apparatus while he was standing in the jump seat area.
Did we as fire professionals really learn anything from this incident? The answer is we probably learned something but not enough to make any drastic improvements in our safety habits.
This is evident by what I saw while working in southern Florida in midFebruary. I was stopped at a traffic light and an engine company rolled by. Both firefighters were standing up at the jump seats instead of being seated and wearing their seat belts.
If one of these firefighters had fallen off and been hurt, would he have sued the manufacturer? Would the courts have awarded him a multimillion-dollar settlement?
What we do know is that company officers must enforce the rules. Firefighters must be seated and buckled up at all times. Department chief officers who do not enforce or establish jump seat guidelines are allowing an accident to happen. The only question is when it will occur.
Dave E. Williams Fire Engineering Staff Correspondent Atlanta, Ga.
