Nov 10, 2009 7:08 pm US/Eastern
Federal Report Critical Of BFD In Deadly Fire
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
A new federal report is blasting the Boston Fire Department and their response to the
Tai Ho restaurant fire in August 2007.
Two fire fighters died while fighting that blaze.
WBZ's I-Team obtained the report by the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. It says there were many factors that led to the deaths of Paul Cahill and Warren Payne.
Their review found that there was ineffective management that night on the scene in West Roxbury and insufficient tactics and training for both fire fighters and commanders. The communication that night was not effective enough, the report concluded. The review also found that the Rapid Response intervention team was delayed in getting into position, and blamed a lack of team work.
The results are not sitting well with the head of the
Boston fire fighters' union, Ed Kelly. He issued a statement saying, "NIOSH's recommendations... clearly show that the training and oversight provided by the management of the BFD is in need of major reform." Kelly goes on to say it's a "blue print for moving the department forward."
The Boston Fire Commissioner would not comment, until he had a chance to examine the report himself.
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