Statement from Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr.
Charleston, South Carolina
Rebuttal to the Routley Report Emails released to media
CHARLESTON – On Sunday, August 1, the Post & Courier printed a story regarding conversational emails between various members of the Fire Review Team that the City hired immediately after the tragic Sofa Super Store Fire.
What is important and should be the focus of our energy is the progress which has been made in the fire department since the Sofa Super Store Fire and what has been done to create the excellent fire department we have. Immediately after the fire, we set out to gather a team of experts who could analyze what we needed to do to prevent such an occurrence ever again.
When the team came in, we promptly acted on their recommendations, some of which were given shortly after their arrival here. We have continued to implement the recommendations given by our team of experts. We have a new chief, Chief Thomas Carr, who has been a change agent, listening to the firefighters, implementing important changes and leading the department through a difficult time. We have taken great pains to implement the Team’s recommendations including:
Personnel
In 2007, there were 246 sworn personnel
Today, there are 295
New Positions
2 Deputy Chiefs
1 logistics Officer
1 Safety Officer
3 Training captains
1 Public Information Officer
2 Admin Assistants
1 Budget Analyst
1 HR Coordinator
36 New FF positions
3 Additional Captains
3 Additional Engineers
4 person staffing on all apparatus (one of very few in the State) in compliance with NFPA 1710.
New Equipment and Procedures
New 45 minute SCBA (Breathing apparatus)
New PPE (turnout gear) chosen by committee.
New Station Uniforms
New Large Diameter supply hose and appliances
Rapid Intervention kits
New extrication equipment
Thermal Imagers for all apparatus
Gear lockers for PPE in all stations
Diesel Exhaust extraction systems in all stations
Lapel microphones and portable radio straps for all personnel
Positive pressure ventilation fans for all ladder companies.
4 new pumpers (designed by committee and fully equipped)
New Light and Air truck
Command and safety vests
New Accountability system and boards
New promotional process and hiring process
Standard SOP for safe structural firefighting being used regionally.
Cooperative response with regional fire departments
Consolidated dispatch
New Command vehicle
Training
Officer Candidates School
Career development expectations for all positions
Command Officer training
Rapid Intervention training
Incident Command training
New hires training consists of 20 weeks with FF1, FF2 and EMT certificates
Working towards FF2 certification for all incumbents
Behavioral health
Firefighter Support group established
Internal Peer Support team
We will not forget the sacrifice those brave nine men made. I will continue to concentrate on what we need to do for our firefighters, their families and our citizens.
As I have said many times, the legacy of this tragic fire should be that the Charleston Fire Department rightly be seen as a national leader in fire service response and safety.
Also on SConFire…
- FD Prepares For Reinvention – November 17, 2010
- Cook Named Hampton’s New Chief – November 29, 2010
- Reverend Dr. Gary Rogers New Association Chaplain – January 20, 2012
- Charleston Fire Rolls Out New Command Vehicle – March 4, 2011
Mayor Riley
The information you provided is impressive. The questions that need to be asked are:
A. Why wasn’t money spent on these up grades done BEFORE the Sofa Super Store Fire?
B. Why did it take the loss of Nine Brave Firefighters to bring about these changes?
In the past, based upon information I obtained on the Charleston Post and Courier website after the SSS Fire, the FY 2006
Firefighter training budget amounted to $6.00 dollars for the line personnel.
Further, after he SSS Fire, an estimated total of about $1.7 Million dollars was
need to bring the Charleston FD “Up To” 2008
Fire Industry Standards, because of a failure to budget sufficiently in the years preceeding the fire.
As part of the investigation a Pre-Fire Survey/Inspection Notice, completed by a former Charleston Firefighter/Inspector
was included in the documents. This was between five to seven years before the actual fire.
If “In Theory” the former Charleston Fire Chief had invested between $100,000 and $200,000 dollars per year on annual PPE, fire appratus, Technology Upgrades (use of TIC’s) and personel training (Building Construction ICS/NIMS, RIT) do this
fire would have as many fatalities if any?
It’s easy to point out what has been accomplished since the SSS Fire. The entire Fire Service Community has been looking at Charleston since the former Chief essentially uttered his words saying:
“Their will be no investigation” and “I would not change anything as to how the fire was fought”.
After the incident the CFD Had To Change. You saw that by hiring the current Chief Tom Carr. But what did the former one do?
Back to question “A”. Why was the Charleston FD of 6-17-07 and befoe so “Cash Starved” that it was poorly equipped to handle any major blaze?
Example: surrounding fire departments had up graded to using 4-inch and 5-inch supply hose yet Charleston was till using 2-1/2 inch.
Why didn’t All of the fire departments County wide get together and jointly purchase one size of large diameter hose and couplings at the same time? Standardization has a benefit in Cost Reductions. But that was missed in Charleston.
The Routely Reports, Initial 27 Recommendations and the Phase I and II Reports were prepared by the Best Fire Officers in the Fire Service Industry and they showed you where the CFD was inadquate.
That’s what you paid them for.
The e-mails simply confirm what was written by the CFD Personnel and their relatives after the fire and posted at the
“Charleston Post and Courier” and “Firefighter Hourly” websites.
For you to be upset about their content is again your showing that You Did Not have an adquate understanding about the events that transpired that day and before.
I’ve quoted News Commentator/Author
Dan Rather’s title of his book:
“The Camera Never Blinks”
and that can be said about the e-mails.
The investigative team gave you what you wanted, a detailed report on how the former Chief failed his FD and the citizens of Charleston.
If you review yor own comments from the day after the fire up to the release of the Draft NIOSH Report, in the print/video media, you yourself look “Disconnected” from the reality of the events of that day and throughout.
You can’t re-write history as it’s been written and videoed.