Two people ended up on the losing side of that equation about two weeks ago when a brother and sister died in an apartment fire in Burlington, Ohio. That tragedy raised several questions about response times and volunteer fire departments. Those on the scene say it to ok firefighters way too long to arrive on the scene. Reports show otherwise.
That sums up the blessings and the curses of volunteer firefighting. Ed Webb has been at this for fifteen years managing a family and up until his recent retirement, a full-time job.
Volunteer firefighters are not at the station all the time. Many have a small crew available and depend on outside resources.
All of that can affect a volunteer fire department's response times - a matter of life and death.
It was two deaths in a fire at this apartment building in Burlington several weeks ago that shined a new spotlight on the issue. Neighbors say it took firefighters way too long to respond.
According to Lawrence County 911, the nearest fire department, was dispatched at 11:27pm and arrived on the scene five minutes later at 11:32, well within acceptable times for any department - paid or volunteer. That raises another issue, when and how did the call for help go out?
The concern is when you call 911 from a cell phone, you do not automatically get Lawrence County 911.
Carrie, "we decided to put that to the test. Using a cell phone with a West Virginia number, I called 911 from Lawrence County, Ohio. I got Cabell County. I did tell the dispatcher right away I wanted to report an emergency in Chesapeake, Ohio and she very promptly transferred me to Lawrence County 911.
"Without any major delays, the call was transferred, completed and tones went out in a little over one minute. But, had I not immediately alerted the Cabell County dispatcher I was in Ohio, that process could have taken much longer. To those on the scene of a fire watching a building burn with people trapped inside, even a few minutes seemed like an eternity and for good reason."
A structure, fire will double every 7 seconds--within five minutes
