Mich. Officials to Determine if EMS Delay Led to Boy's Death

Sept. 27--Southfield fire officials are investigating a fire response/EMS snafu that may have led to the death of a 10-year-old boy on Sunday night.

Fire Chief Keith Rowley said a massive fire that swamped the department's resources led to a 15-minute response time to the Oxley Street home of Xavier Joe, who was having an asthma attack. Rowley said the department prides itself on keeping response times to under five minutes.

"We feel this. We're all parents. We're mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and we can't imagine the grief that the family feels," said Rowley, referring to the city's fire department. ""We need to look at the facts and see where we can make changes."

On Saturday at 8 p.m., the city's fire department received a 911 call of a second-story fire on Winchester Street, with witness reports of five people trapped inside. Rowley said the fire department dispatched personnel and machinery from all four stations to respond to the fire, which had consumed the second story of the house.

At about 8:15 p.m., the first call came in about Xavier, followed by several other 911 calls, Rowley said. The response was slowed by the fire. In the end, despite witness claims, there was no one inside.

In 2010, Southfield's public safety departments lobbied the community hard to pass a millage that would prevent firefighter and police officer layoffs. Rowley said the millage has allowed the city to hire four more firefighters and has helped keep the response time low. However, he said, every system can have hiccups.

"Any system can be overwhelmed, no matter how large," he said.

The Free Press is attempting to reach the family of Xavier Joe.

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