NILES REFUSES TO PUT OUT FIRE ??????????????????????????????

[Bs918]

I really hope this is not true, I just cannot believe it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Firefighters refuse to battle blaze, but watch By JOHN GRANT EMEIGH


Tribune Chronicle

McKINLEY HEIGHTS - Firefighters from Niles watched a Weathersfield house burn for about 20 minutes Thursday afternoon without attempting to put it out because the fire occurred outside the city limits.
Jason Radcliff said most of the items in his home at 2782 Robbins Ave. may have been saved if the Niles firefighters had acted immediately.

Instead, the Niles crew waited for the Weathersfield Fire Department to come and put out the blaze. Radcliff said Niles firefighters had three firetrucks at the scene and could have easily put out the fire.

''You don't just sit there and watch someone's livelihood burn,'' Radcliff said.

Capt. Randy Ciminero of the Niles Fire Department confirmed his firefighters mistakenly were dispatched to the scene because the fire originally was thought to have been in Niles.

Since the fire was not in the city's jurisdiction, Ciminero said his firefighters just waited to make sure no one was injured.

Radcliff, whose house was no more than 200 yards from Niles city limits, was angry the Niles firefighters didn't help.

''Don't call yourself a firefighter if you do something like that,'' he said.

The Niles firefighters said they would have done something if there was someone trapped in the house, but Ciminero said his department was not obligated to fight the fire.

Ciminero said he didn't want his firefighters tied up with this fire when they could have been called out to a fire in Niles.

''I'm paid by the city of Niles. I'm paid to protect the property of the people of Niles,'' he said.

Radcliff, who has rented the house for the past five years, said the fire was contained to one room when Niles firefighters arrived. However, the fire spread by the time firefighters from the Weathersfield station arrived.

It takes Weathersfield firefighters longer to respond to fires because it only has part-time firefighters who usually are not at the station when called.

The Niles department was dispatched to the fire because the 911 call was made from a cell phone, and all cell phone calls go to the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Southington. The patrol dispatcher mistakenly notified the Niles department about the fire because Robbins Avenue also runs through Niles.

Firefighters from Weathersfield's Station No. 40, who were eventually called about 1:10 p.m., put out the fire. An official from the Weathersfield department said the fire was contained to a room and part of the attic.

The cause of the fire was undetermined, the Fire Department reported.

One Weathersfield firefighter was taken to a local hospital after suffering breathing problems and was treated and released that day.

Weathersfield Fire Chief Randall Pugh was not available for comment.

Radcliff said he and his fiancee and their three children will have to stay in a hotel.


jemeigh@tribune-chronicle.com

[guest]

Many years ago there was a third alarm apartment fire in Niles with one civilian fatality and Mckinley Heights responded uninvited and got in Niles's way.

More recently Niles was working one fire on the far side of town and then the old perkins went up on 422 from an electrical short in the wall where a heat lamp was plugged to keep food warm. The NFD left the one fire and arrived delayed to the commercial job which was a total loss. Nobody else was invited nor offered to supply aid. The NFD used a light maintenance mini snorkel and ran a small diameter hose to the bucket to hit the roof,

The NFD units were hitting the fire from opposite sides of the building and instead of extinguishing flames wet one another down. Randy Ciminero is a very NICE man and will possibly be the next NFD chief if they make it lucrative since he makes more as a captain than the chief does.


When a manufacturing plant caught fire outside the Niles city limits on 169 Weathersfield dumped out everybody and Howland sent ladder 30.
Don't remeber if NFD responded or not.

Its hard to make a moral/legal call on this one. Maybe there are strict orders from the mayor or the chief. If it were me I'd commit one pump to the scence and send the other units back to cover Niles.

[daysleeper47]

I can't believe this stuff. Niles acted so inappropriately, it isn't even understandable. This is causing quite a stir on www.firehouse.com. Check out http://cms.firehouse.com/forums2/showthread.php?s=&threadid=56322&perpage=15&pagenumber=4 to see what they are saying. My replies to this crap can be seen there.

[Hazguy]

 Randy Ciminero is a very NICE man and will possibly be the next NFD chief if they make it lucrative since he makes more as a captain than the chief does.

 Sorry to hear this guy may be chief some day .... it will be a SAD day for Niles.  If I lived in Niles, I would not support him due to this decision.  But thats my personal opinion.

[Anonymous]

I don't feel that it was a big deal. Niles has bad blood with Weathersfield/Mckinley Heights since a 3rd alarm from long ago. They do not request nor offer assistance. They fight their own fires. Rememeber the Mob may still be active in Niles politics. Niles has speed traps and tickets minority speeders but lets majotity speeders off with a word and I've seen it so it should not be surprising. They have the finest fire equipment possible and are generally very nice folks.

McKinley Heights is a VERY competent part of the Weathersfield Fd and I've seen them work just around the corner from where this fire was and the are a mini FDNY no joke. They may not WANT Niles to meddle in THEIR fires.
To standby isn't a crime and to not extinguish isn't really criminal. Subscription departments funded not by government but by private fees similarly won't respond or react if the fire is not in their system.

Come on for crying out loud. Some guy's things are burned and he probably didn't carry renter's insurance since he was a tenant and he's squacking about it. Randy is as NICE of a guy anywhere and I'm sure he followed orders from Chief Semple or Mayor Infante.

[Anonymous]

Wow, Hard to believe that post. Hey Buddy Did you know Woman now vote !

[Anonymous]

Doing the right thing was equally important. When the firefighters speak of a colleague who does the right thing, they mean [the firefighter] will stay at a post under terrible conditions and not panic. Doing the right thing was going in and risking your life for a trapped civilian or fellow fire[fighter]. Fire[fighters] define each other by their codes of honor, which, because of the nature of the job, are mandatory and must be instinctive. [Firefighters] have to be able to count not just on their officers, but on their buddies. Doing the right thing also involves small, seemingly unimportant things in the firehouse. It begins when you are a probie, and it means following certain customs, such as being the first one to the sink to wash the pots and pans after meals. The firehouse, like the military, is based on doing little things right, because if someone does not do the little things correctly, then that person probably wont do the big things correctly.

[Anonymous]

Webster’s New College Dictionary defines INTEGRITY as; 1. Firm adherence to a code or standard of values. 2. The state of being unimpaired: Soundness. 3. The quality of condition of being undivided: Completeness.

Integrity is the essence of your self worth. It is how you present yourself. It is how you are perceived. It is how you are respected and a measurement of your character. As a public servant sworn to serve and protect the public your integrity is held to the highest degree possible. By reason of your job as a firefighter or paramedic your integrity, your crews integrity and companies integrity is how effective you deliver quality service.  

Webster’s New College Dictionary defines ETHIC as: 1. A principle of right or good behavior. 2. A system of moral principles or values. 3.Ethics.  The study of the general nature of morals and the specific moral choices an individual makes relating to others. 4. Ethics. The rules or standards of conduct governing the members of a profession.

 Nothing else needs to said about what ethics means to you as an individual.

[6637]

was dispatched to a fire which turned out to be in the neighboring town, and found a house ready. to "take off"....  this towns dept. had one truck with two members and no one else comming.   radioed my chief and asked what I should do, knowing I was going to commit and assist.  Even if my chief told me to return to quarters, I would of disobeyed, and commited anyway......  It was just the right thing to do, and If I would have been disiplined, I would have been able to look in the mirror in the morning........  when we take the oath, the words " in our jurisdiction were not in there...........think about it..  I think command has some serious questions to answer!!!!

[wfd lieutenant]

It seems that almost everyone posting is of the same opinion as I am.  There was no noted reason to not put out the fire.  The biggest problem I have with this whole story is this... If they were stopped 200 yards from the fire and did not go to the actual fire scene, how did they confirm that there was no imminent danger to life there?  If they did go to the actual scene and confirm that there was no imminent danger to life they are even more guilty.  We handle this kind of situation on a regular basis.  Even though there may be times we don't get along with the other department, we are obligated to act professionally.  Professional firefighters are not ones that are paid but that act like professionals if they get paid or not.  Well, I am done spouting off.

[GA_Dave]

My own department has had individuals with archaic thinking such as this, but we got rid of them!  Every firefighter begins his/her career, whether paid or volunteer, with an oath.  It may be a formal oath or not, but it is still an oath.  That oath is to protect life and property.  It never says whose life and property.  Regardless of how he comes upon an incident, on duty or off, he is morally obligated to do whatever he can to improve the situation he encounters.  
   The Niles Fire Department has made a big mistake.  An investigation into who decided not to fight this fire needs to be made and appropriate action taken against that individual.  If not criminal, then civil action should be persued.  Actions like this make all firefighters look bad.  
   My department also shares boundries with other departments.  Due to cell phones, we frequently get dispatched to incidents that are just outside our jurisdiction.  We do not have any formal policy regarding this, but we always react the same way.  Notify the proper jurisdiction and proceed to mitigate.  No questions!

[wfd]

my gut feeling about this subject is that niles fd has a policy of fighting only their own fires and not asking or accepting help neither offering any .
if there exists such an attitude as i really believe then my way of doing business would have to be this:
assign one engine with 3-4 personnel to the fire and return the balance to cover the municipality in the event of another call withiin city limits.
i would be willing to take any heat from higher ups to be a professional and also show some human compassion. :roll:

[Anonymous]

Just another sad day in the Mahoning Valley.    

If we look at Coumbus and areas around they run automatic mutial-aid just so that every dept. does not completely tie up all their resources.

Lets look this brain storming idea?
Naaaaa- that would promote cooperation

What has happened here is normal mahoning valley POLLITICS :!:  
This is not allowed in most brain thinking fire departments.  :!:

[wfd]

too much bad feeling between niles and environs
they dont look too concerned about negative publiciy
local media didnt make too big a deal out of it
now if dateline or 48hrs gets in on it well....

[jim trk 1]

That's pretty messed up if you ask me.  Here in Columbus we run with all the townships for automatic mutual aid.  I can't imagine watching a house burn down and not putting it out. The report said that Niles had co's on scene and stood around. That's f***ed up, they should have attacked the fire head on.  I would be looking for a lawsuit pretty soon.