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EAST LIVERPOOL -- While operations have returned to normal at the East Liverpool Fire Department after Monday's carbon monoxide incident sent seven people to the hospital, multiple operations procedures and policies have been changed or are undergoing revisions.
Fire Chief Antony Cumo noted that carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors have been installed at central station and the propane generator that caused the incident has been removed and won't be used again.
Cumo noted that initial reports listed five employees -- four firefighters and a police dispatcher. However, an off duty dispatcher was also at the station to see if any assistance was needed. She had stopped by with her young daughter and both were also treated at the hospital.
Cumo said the off duty dispatcher and her child were left off the initial report due to being uncomfortable releasing information about a minor.
The poisoning happened after someone closed a door that had been opened to provide ventilation.
Cumo said his investigation is wrapping up, and he expects to have a finished report ready by the middle of next week.
Cumo and Safety-Service Director Bill Jones were in attendance at the East Liverpool City Council Safety/Rules Committee which met jointly with the Finance Committee Tuesday night at East Liverpool City Hall to discuss the incident and what caused it and how to prevent it from happening again.
Safety/Rules Committee Chair Deb Danver said that a crisis management and emergency action plan is needed.
Cumo told the committee that there have been some policy changes and corrections made and that nobody was aware of the planned power outage until right before the power went out. He also noted that he is currently working on getting statements put together to figure out what happened and how.
Cumo said that he was told by a dispatcher on Tuesday that dispatch received a phone call telling them in half an hour they were going to lose power and then the power went out. In the midst of the outage, they hurried to get the generator up and running at the fire station since the one at dispatch has been down for some time and then gathered what they needed to bring dispatch to the backup location at the fire department.
Cumo told the committee that dispatch was up and running and taking calls when the carbon monoxide incident happened, which he found out after the fact, after everyone had been taken to the hospital.
He said that he is currently getting together with everyone involved and going over what happened. He said everyone was released from the hospital on the same night and then sent home because he didn't want to risk his crew's health or risk anybody being tired, calling in others to cover the remainder of that shift.
The committees, Jones and Cumo then had a long discussion on generators, and Jones said that he has been working for over two years trying to get funding for a new one. He was asked how much one cost, and Jones replied that the last quote he got was in February or March of this year for $45,000. He also noted that he had been working as recently as several months ago trying to get an automatic generator for the dispatch center. He said they had the generator, the situation would not have been as bad as it was, noting the center is required to have something to provide backup power because it also serves as a 911 center.
Multiple committee members said one is also needed for the fire department in case someone hits a pole in the middle of the night, or anything happens that could result in a power outage.
Jones said that he has been meeting with City Auditor Marilyn Bosco for two years now trying to get the money for a generator and he has also contacted a couple of electricians to get quotes on putting a transfer switch at the dispatch center which in an emergency situation allows the fire department to bring a portable generator to dispatch and plug it into an exterior transfer switch to keep dispatch up and running.
Jones noted the transfer switch would be a temporary solution until a generator can be purchased. Even with a new generator, they would keep the transfer switch in place for a secondary backup if for any reason the generator doesn't come on.
Council Member and Finance Committee Chair Brian Kerr said it is not acceptable that fire department has to open up doors and windows in that kind of situation and that the city safety forces don't just cover the city, but townships as well. He said it's not good that in an emergency that have to operate with candle and smoke signals with the crews' lives being put in jeopardy.
"I'm not making an excuse but every time you turn around and ask to get something fixed, we're told we don't have any money, and it gets discouraging after a while," Jones said. "You just get discouraged when you hear for 30 some years we don't have the money, we're broke, and you just get tired of it and do the best you can with what you have and that's what we have done and that's the situation.
Kerr also noted that the city has the money. He said he checked on the finances and that if they wanted, they could take the money out of the Capital Improvement fund.
Councilman John Mercer said the city has functioned too long ignoring these types of problems for years, and they can no longer be ignored.
Kerr said hopefully council can work to get stuff done because this is a wake-up call especially for the fire and police departments with the 911 center.
Danver asked for an emergency action plan to consider costs of addressing such issues. She also said that they are learning the safety service forces standard operation procedures.
Danver said she wants concrete requirements and policies put in place to avoid any further situations like this one happening again.
The Finance and Safety/Rules Committees are committed to finding a way to purchase generators for both departments and will be making that a recommendation to Council as a Whole.