Missteps by Buffalo, NY, Firefighters During '23 LODD Listed in Reports

Although Buffalo Firefighter Jason Arno called 'Mayday' four times, no one on the fireground heard him.

A dispatcher interrupted an officer's transmission telling him: "We have a Mayday reported from Engine 2 Bravo 2 radio."

Multiple missteps by the Buffalo Fire Department are outlined in state and city investigative reports recently admitted as evidence during a civil trial involving a wrongful death suit filed by Arno's wife, WIVB reported. 

Both reports -- dated months after the deadly March 1, 2023 fire -- had not been released publicly.

Contributing factors listed in the New York Department of Labor report include “inadequate accountability, non-functioning firefighting equipment, failure to follow interior firefighting procedures, and other factors unrelated to occupational safety and health standards.”

Likewise, the fire department's probe determined there was a delay in defensive operations because rigs were moved outside the collapse zone. Other issues included not doing a complete 360 of the building, initial hose selection was inadequate due to construction and size of the building; horizontal ventilation was performed with inadequate line pressure. 

When conditions worsened, the incident commander ordered an evacuation. The dispatcher broke in, telling him that a firefighter had called a 'Mayday.'

Arno's final transmission -- "Help" -- came one minute after he first called Mayday.

The wrongful death suit claims Arno died an agonizing and terrifying death alone inside the burning building.

He "suffered conscious pain and suffering, pre-death terror and fear of impending death, as well as serious and grave bodily injuries," according to the suit.

In an expert affirmation, filed in court records, Former Buffalo Fire Commissioner and Fire Chief Mike Lombardo said:  “I conclude, to a reasonable degree of fire science certainty, that the City of Buffalo and/or the City of Buffalo Fire Department were negligent in failing to comply with multiple statutes, laws, rules and/or regulations, which caused the line of duty death to firefighter Arno.”