Apr 20, 04:00 EDT   Heroes fiddled while home burned Long wait for fire trucks had man hosing blazing roof By Bruce DeMara Toronto Star City Hall Bureau Standing on a ladder, trying to douse the flames shooting out of the roof of his East York home with a garden hose, Ian Grant kept wondering where the fire department was. When they did arrive, Grant says, they had difficulty connecting the hose to the fire hydrant, and two trucks at the scene were involved in a collision. The April 3 fire caused extensive damage to the upper floor of his house. Grant wants to know why it took firefighters 25 to 30 minutes, by his estimate, to start pouring water on the flames. ``It was a comedy of errors. It was like a Keystone Kops movie, but it wasn´t funny at all,´´ he said. ``Three minutes is a long time in the life of a fire, 25 to 30 is an (eternity) especially when you´re hanging off the side of your house trying to keep it from going up. ``I yelled down a couple times, I don´t know how many, for people to call 911 again . . . and nothing.´´ Grant said he had three hoses, two manned by neighbours, trained on his house by the time firefighters finally sprang into action. `It was a comedy of errors. It was a like a Keystone Kops movie. ... I yelled down a couple times, I don´t know how many, for people to call 911 again . . . and nothing.´ - Ian Grant Homeowner who tried to put out a fire at his East York home with a garden hose ``What do you do? Your gut instinct is to protect your house.´´ Fire officials dispute Grant's allegation of the lengthy delay. Fire Chief Al Speed said the first truck arrived on the scene in seven minutes and 47 seconds. Deputy Chief Rick Simpson, who investigated the matter, said the response time was less than seven minutes. But a retired firefighter who lives in the neighbourhood - who asked not to be identified - has his own estimate: 23 minutes. The retired firefighter said he called 911 twice, the second time 15 minutes after the first call. He said the 911 tapes should settle the issue, because they're designed to record the time precisely. He also said the dispatcher told him crews initially went to the wrong part of Bessborough Dr. The north-south street has two segments, separated by parkland and Eglinton Ave. E. ``It´s kind of embarrassing,´´ the retired firefighter said. Simpson said there were two fires reported within five minutes of each other, one at Craig Ave. and Bessborough Dr. and the one at the Grant residence a short time later. ``This was the second call that came into the former East York area within five minutes - the second working fire, which is unusual. ``It´s unfortunate for the owner,´´ Simpson said. ``I sympathize with the owner´s plight. But it was a very unusual circumstance.´´ The vehicles dispatched to the home were from the former city of Toronto. That caused some delay, but not as long as Grant alleged, Simpson said. ``Oftentimes when people are waiting for an emergency vehicle, it seems like a lot more time than what it actually is.´´ Councillor Jane Pitfield (East York) said the mixup over which part of the street to go to is inexcusable. ``They (firefighters) need to have maps, they need to be trained . . . so that they can regularly come and help from the various stations.´´ Pitfield said she was shocked to learn that a new $19 million radio system meant to amalgamate communications among the six former departments is still not operational, long after it was approved. ``I´m disgusted that one year and a half later, I learn that the reason (the new radio system) is not in place is because the towers haven´t been built. ``The No. 1 priority right now in the fire department should be being able to communicate across the boundaries that we´ve taken down in amalgamation but still seem to be up in firefighting.´´ Speed acknowledged the problems in installing the combined system. ``Until that´s operational, we still have the six´´ separate systems, Speed said. Jim Lee, president of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters Association, couldn't be reached for comment. But earlier this week, Lee told city council's policy and finance committee that reductions in the department's budget and staff have led to reduced service. ``The staffing shortages,´´ he said, ``have resulted in numerous fire trucks being removed from service and a general downgrading of fire protection for the citizens in our city.´´