Ladder Company near Fatal Buffalo Fire Closed

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Hours before a fire on Riverside Avenue that took the life of a 6-month-old infant, the city put Ladder 13 out of service for a shift because of a new policy, agreed upon in the new fire union contract, to cut down on overtime costs.

It is important to note the following: the mother had already removed the baby from the home by the time the first fire engine arrived on scene. No one is saying the city’s new policy change would have saved the infant’s life early Tuesday morning. However, several firefighters say they are concerned this policy change could have deadly consequences in the future.

Buffalo firefighters are all trained to do multiple jobs. But union president Dan Cunningham says there is a usual way they attack a fire, with engine companies taking on one role and ladder companies taking on another.

He says at the fire on Riverside, a new provision in the union contract prevented the closest ladder company on Hertel Avenue from responding.

The provision says if five out of the approximately 120 Buffalo firefighters on duty for a shift call in sick, the city now can close one fire company for that shift. It’s meant to save money on overtime costs.

The fire company closed down for the overnight shift happened to be Ladder 13, the closest ladder truck to the fire.

With Ladder 13 closed, Ladder 4 was the first ladder to respond to the fire. It’s located at Rhode Island and Cenengo Streets. Cunningham a map shows how the response time would be impacted.

Engine 26, which was first on the scene, is headquartered just a few blocks from the fire on Riverside. Ladder 13 was just a mile and a half away. While Ladder 4, which took its place, responded from four miles away.

“The time that search and rescue would have been started, obviously would have been much shorter,” Cunningham said.

Without a search and rescue ladder on scene, Engine 26’s captain reportedly went into the Riverside home himself to check for more people.

Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield said, “These are all professionals. They multi-task. They do whatever needs to be done at a fire. There is no rigid assignment that would preclude you from doing something else.”

Whitfield says the closing of the fire company did not affect the way this fire was fought. But Cunningham disagrees.

Ultimately, the union negotiated the contract with the city and agreed to it, and the union agreed to this provision, which the city says could save up to $2 million.

Cunningham explained, “When you don’t have a contract in 11 years, you have to sit at the table and negotiate things you may not like. They don’t have to close one every day. That’s their choice. We did agree with this as part of the overall contract that gives us our first raise and some stability until 2017.”

The union president says though firefighters approved the policy change, they would like to see the city be more discriminant in closing fire companies.

Investigators have not yet determined a cause for Tuesday’s fatal fire.

Since July 1, the following firehouses have been closed by the city due to sick time, according to Local 282’s Facebook page:

    July 9:  Ladder 10 on Southside and Seneca Streets
    July 8:  Truck 6 at Jefferson Avenue and Kingsley Street & Ladder 13 on Hertel
    July 7:  Engine 34 on Main Street and Mercer Avenue & Engine 37 on Rhode Island and Chenango Streets
    July 5:  Engine 25 in Seneca Street and Southside
    July 1:  Engine 28 in Lovejoy

Statement from Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield:

“The closest firehouse to the scene on Riverside Avenue was Engine 26, located at Tonawanda and Progressive Avenues. Engine 26 arrived in just over three minutes of being called, and before any ambulance was on the scene.

“Engine 36, located on Elmwood and Hertel Avenues, also responded. It was the second apparatus on the scene. It should be noted that the Hertel Avenue Firehouse was not closed but Ladder 13,  which is also housed at that location, was out of service for the evening. On any given day, an apparatus (engine or ladder company) can be out of service for a variety reasons.

“To clarify, the Hertel Avenue Firehouse was open, operational and response time for this incident was not a factor. Unfortunately, nothing could have been done to avoid this tragedy.”