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Letters to the Editor
Saginaw Firefighter Defends Department Role In Battling the Ippel Blaze Dear Mr. Martin & the Citizens of Saginaw, My name is Michael Gray, and I have been a member of your fire department for six years. I am also a long-time reader of The Review. I read, with interest, the article on the recent unfortunate fire at the Ippel Building (Anatomy of An Inferno Redux, #517, Feb. 7-20) and was distressed to discover, Mr. Martin, that you were troubled by some things that you saw at the fire. I'm sure any sense of alarm you felt must have been magnified by the fact that you operate a business within the city limits, and depend on your department for fire protection. I felt compelled to take a moment to write and share some of my personal experiences, so as to remove any nagging doubts you, or any of your readers may have with respect to the sincerity of our efforts to protect you and your property. You wrote that you were struck by "how long it seemed to take for the big ladder trucks to arrive "I could only see one major pump and a couple of other ladder trucks working the fire, with two other engines parked around the periphery." If I understand the article clearly, these were things you noticed at approximately 6:30 PM. The passage of time is a subjective phenomenon under any circumstance, and any emergency service provider, or anyone unlucky enough to find themselves swept up in an emergency will attest to the fact that in a drastic situation, time seems to stand absolutely still. Setting that aside for a moment, I can tell, from the description of department vehicles that you gave that you were looking at the entire on-duty component of the Saginaw Fire Department. I was not on duty that night, and did not report to the scene until later, but I do know that the initial alarm came in at 6:05. Which means that units responded to the alarm, the building was evacuated, crews made an initial interior attack with hose lines, additional resources were called to the scene, setup and put into operation within about 30 minutes. I know that when a person is watching operations on a fire scene, there are times when they don't actually see any activity, and it seems each moment lasts forever and there's just nothing happening. But this is not necessarily the case. You mentioned also that "There did not seem to be as much presence in terms of firefighters as when the Fordney burned." Stated simply, there wasn't. One reason is that, unhappily, there just aren't as many firefighters on the department today as there were in 1991. However, there are a few other things that you should keep in mind as well. The Saginaw Fire Department was not the only agency to respond to the initial alarm. Officers from the Saginaw Police Department added greatly in their evacuation of the building, and swiftly secured the scene, making it safer for fire operations, and for bystanders. Also, Mobile Medical Response dispatched multiple units to the scene to prepare to treat the injured (one bright spot, there were no civilian injuries-None). In addition, there are distinct differences between the Fordney Fire & the Ippel fire. I know it's natural to want to compare these two events simply because of their proximity. But once you get past the fact that they were both fires in multi-story buildings, similarities fade and differences become prevalent. The Fordney fire was a significantly larger fire, with a much greater area of involvement. The Fordney blaze was fought on a muggy day, with temperatures in the high 80s, calling for more frequent rotation of personnel into rehabilitation areas to minimize heat exhaustion and guard against heat stroke. In addition to the temperature, there was also a high wind that day, which I'm sure had a stoking effect on the main fire, but which also carried burning embers to nearby rooftops, igniting several secondary fires. All these factors combine to form a need for far more personnel and equipment than were required for the fire at the Ippel building. I'm sure whatever misgivings you had about what you saw that night were multiplied ten-fold after speaking with firefighters from Saginaw Township (I'm not sure how many you spoke with, the article says 'some'). Believe me, Mr. Martin, you and I are on exactly the same page here. There are so many things that trouble me about these statements, it's difficult to know where to begin. The person or persons who made these statements allege that 'union politics' may have played a role in our department's request for mutual aid (aid requested from outside departments). This is a grave accusation, with ramifications pertaining directly to the safety of the citizens of Saginaw. The person making this statement should have provided you with incontrovertible proof of its truth. Evidence to the contrary is contained in the statement itself. Phrases like "I believe the reason is union politics" and "The only reason I can think of..." betray the fact that the speaker is speculating. With that in mind, the speaker's request for anonymity becomes suspect. Why request anonymity? Either the person knowingly made a false statement to The Review, or (more likely) the person made a statement they believed to be true without first obtaining permission from their department. Either road leads directly to a very bad situation. This is a moot point, though. The fact is, the chief of our department was the person who enacted the mutual assistance plan for the Ippel fire. Our chief is not a member of the union. How could union politics affect his decision? The anonymous speaker also stated that "We (Saginaw Township) didn't get a phone call for assistance until several hours after the fire broke." In reality, a request for an air truck from Saginaw Township (used to fill spent air bottles at the scene) was made within about 90 minutes of the initial alarm. Is 90 minutes the same as several hours? To continue, the speaker states, "We (Saginaw Township) have a brand new ladder truck that could have been brought to the scene in 10 or 15 minutes." The Saginaw Fire Department has three ladder trucks (two in service at all times, and a third as an auxiliary unit). All three were in operation initially. The above statement presupposes the need for a fourth ladder truck at the scene. Our mutual assistance pact with surrounding departments gives the incident commander (the person 'running' the fire) the right to call for whatever specific equipment or personnel he deems necessary to mitigate the hazard. Perhaps a fourth ladder truck at the scene would have been superfluous. I submit to you and your readers, Mr. Martin, that these anonymous statements are so full of holes, they should be discounted entirely. If I may be allowed to close on a personal note, I know that this is a long letter. That is a function of the strength of my feeling regarding this matter. I am not alone. The implication that any firefighter, let alone the firefighters of this city, would allow outside factors to influence their conduct on the fireground is simply not true. Any professional firefighter will tell you that in doing so, they would endanger themselves as much as those they are trying to assist. I sincerely hope this letter puts to rest any doubts or fears you or your readers in Saginaw my have regarding your fire department. Being a firefighter has its downside. All jobs do. But in the end, firefighting is an honorable profession. Every last person on your department takes pride in that fact. And we take our job very, very seriously. You need to know that sir, and so do the citizens of Saginaw. We remain At Your Service, Michael Gray Saginaw Firefighter Editor's Reply: Thank you for the thoughtful letter, Michael. And thank you for addressing whatever initial apprehensions were perceived from my own perspective when arriving upon the scene. Regarding this and your concern with remarks made anonymously by Saginaw Township firefighters, it was my own concern with the veracity of these statements that prompted me to phone Fire Marshall Snowden, the Chief commander in charge of the Ippel Fire. Unfortunately, the fire occurred five working days before our press deadline, and nobody from the Saginaw Fire Department returned our calls to address these concerns. Due to the fact, as you state, that Saginaw is working with less manpower than with the Fordney fire, coupled with concerns raised that perhaps township assistance was not requested in the early stages because local firefighters were, in fact, on a layoff status, it was felt these were legitimate concerns for inclusion. The bulk of my own research and investigation on the story centered upon inspections, and I regret that we did not have clarification on the points you raise for inclusion in the initial feature. In a story of the magnitude of the Ippel fire, as with the Fordney, there are many perspectives and angles to capture and pursue. As a journalist committed to providing the public with as complete and thorough a portrait as possible, I thank you for your thoughtful comments. The best that I can do in my job is to inspire thought, stimulate questions, and hopefully affect meaningful change. To that end, I thank you for both your sincerity and contribution. - Robert E. Martin - Editor & Publisher
The Review welcomes your letters & comments. Please address all correspondence to: Letters to the Editor - Review Magazine 318 S. Hamilton St. Saginaw, MI 48602
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