Fatal MA Fire Raises Blackout Questions

NEW BEDFORD, MA — The recent fatal fire on Coffin Ave has brought renewed attention to the fire department's blackout policy.

First responders were able to locate and evacuate 85-year-old Louise Barboza on the third floor of her three-story home after receiving reports of a structure fire, but she suffered second and third degree burns and later died at the hospital.

On Thursday, the president of the local firefighters union Tom Carreiro sent out a statement, he said, in response to media questions about blackouts following the "tragic fire on Tuesday evening."

The statement said that, "The First Due apparatus (for Tuesday's fire) were Engine 8 and Ladder 4 from Station 8 located at the corner of Acushnet Avenue and Davis Street. On this day Engine 8 was the 'blacked out' (closed) apparatus for a 24 hour shift."

"First Due apparatus" refers to a fire vehicle that is situated closest to the location of a fire. A blackout is when a vehicle at a particular fire station is inactive for a shift in order to save money.

The fire chief, Paul Coderre, responded that the blackouts did not affect the response time of Tuesday's fire.

Carreiro described "blacking out" as "a budgetary managing tool forced in place by a failure to fully fund an already understaffed department" and said "The allocation and assigning of funding lies solely in the corner office of City Hall."

Fire officials and the administration of Mayor Jon Mitchell have disagreed for years about whether it is appropriate to use fire blackouts as a method of addressing manpower shortfalls.

When asked how the blackouts affect response time, Carreiro said, "I believe when you have an apparatus closed in an area that it normally covers and someone else has to cover that area, I think it does affect the amount of time."

Coderre sent out his own statement Friday that said, "The Fire Department's 'blackout' policy had no effect on the time of arrival of the first fire apparatus, because Ladder Company 4 was dispatched from the nearest fire station, Station 8, which was staffed and operating at the time of the fire. The 'blackout' of an individual unit does not necessarily result in the closure of a fire station."

Ladder Company 4 is the unit that would have been needed to rescue Barboza and it was not blacked out.

So while Engine 8 was blacked out at Station 8, Ladder Company 4 responded from that same station.

After the fire Coderre said the response included three engines, two trucks, and two commanding officers.

In his statement Coderre detailed the response to the fire, "At 4:49 p.m. on October 22, the New Bedford Fire Department received a 911 call reporting a structure fire at 354 Coffin Ave. Command Unit 1 arrived three minutes later and reported a working structure fire. Ladder Company 4 arrived shortly thereafter. Based on a review of radio traffic among responding units, it was determined that units responded in under 6 minutes, consistent with the national standard for fire response time according to the National Fire Protection Association."

Lt. Kevin Cormier and Firefighter Christopher Mount, of Ladder Company 4, conducted a search of the three-family dwelling, according to Coderre, and were able to quickly locate and evacuate Barboza, the lone occupant of the residence. Ladder companies are responsible for search and rescue.

Mayor Mitchell deferred to Coderre's statements when The Standard-Times reached out for comment, but told NBC 10 earlier in the week that "The blackouts continue to be something that we have to do because of fiscal pressures on the city. But the reality is, it hasn't affected responsiveness."

The firefighters' union has never endorsed the blackouts, according to Carreiro, "We don't feel it's good practice. If the city has a fire department, has fire apparatus, they should keep them functional and in operation."

Carreiro emphasized that he didn't want to take focus away from the family, but sent out his statement in response to the media's questions.

Coderre said, "the New Bedford Fire Department extends its sincere condolences to the victim's family."

The cause of Tuesday's fire is still under investigation.

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