Actions by Ex-Shreveport, LA, Fire Captain 'Linked to the Tragic Loss of Life,' Chief Says

"Your failure to comply with these critical statutes, standard operating procedures and department rules and regulations constitutes a severe breach of your duties and responsibilities as a Shreveport Fire Captain. The actions and inactions observed are directly linked to the tragic loss of life and demonstrate an unacceptable lack of professional conduct and commitment to public safety."

That's what Fire Chief Clarence Reese wrote in a termination letter to Capt. Devin Kennedy, who led the initial operation at an incident last year that claimed four, according to KTBS.

While there were vehicles in the driveway on that Sunday morning, Kennedy never told his crew to go in and attempt a rescue. He added the door he tried to force open was blocked.

During an internal investigation, he said firefighters put water on the fire.

Twelve minutes later, another team of firefighters entered the house.

“Next thing I know, they’re bringing babies out of the house," he told the panel.

The victims included Mildred Carter-Rawls, 84, her granddaughter Eureka Garner, 56, and Garner’s two granddaughters, Tayona Robinson, 7, and Ne’vaeh Garner, 5.

One of the lawsuits also blames the 9-1-1 dispatcher for not telling firefighters that the woman who reported the fire said four people were in the house.

“The dispatch (sic) was supposed to put it in when she got it. It was an oversight on her part,” a supervisor said.

Kennedy told the investigators he never got the updated message about the residents being inside.

After inverviews and reviewing audio, the internal investigation team concluded Kennedy’s actions were directly “linked” to the loss of life, citing a lack of urgency and failure to follow standard operating procedures, including prioritizing rescue efforts, the station reported.

The captain was fired in June, but won his appeal to the Shreveport civil service board. In January, Kennedy received back pay and retirement benefits.

Shreveport Fire Department 

The April 6, fire on Kemp Lane claimed the lives of Mildred Carter-Rawls, 84, her granddaughter Eureka Garner, 56, and Garner’s two young granddaughters, Tayona Robinson, 7, and Ne’vaeh Garner, 5. Nearly a year later, the victims’ families have filed two wrongful death lawsuits against the City of Shreveport, former fire Capt. Devin Kennedy and the Shreveport Fire Department.