Nebraska - 2in/2out rears ugly head

April 7, 2000

Chief defends fire department's response times to emergencies

BY KEVIN ABOUREZK Lincoln Journal Star

It seems like an unthinkable situation. Your neighbor's home is on fire. You call the fire department, frantic as you inform the dispatcher of the burning house across the street or next door. Then you wait. And wait, for what seems an eternity before firefighters arrive to dispel the beast. But often an eternity in a crisis situation can turn out to be just three minutes and 20 seconds.

"It's not uncommon for people in a crisis situation to think that time passes faster than it actually does," Lincoln Fire Chief Dean Staberg said Thursday.

On Wednesday night, a fire caused "extensive" damage to a south Lincoln home, 5656 Calvert St., gutting a laundry room and bathroom, fire officials said. The resident, Thomas Fritsch, was not home at the time of the fire.

Now some of Fritsch's neighbors say the Fire Department's response to the fire left much to be desired. "They should have hit the ground running after seeing the black smoke coming from the house," said Lisa Wanning, who lives across the street from Fritsch at 5621 Calvert St. Wanning, who watched firefighters' efforts to extinguish the fire Wednesday, said firefighters "took their time" putting on their fire protection gear, plugging their hoses into hydrants and checking the house for occupants. Wanning's husband, Phillip, agreed, saying he was "bothered" by firefighters' response time. "If it would have been my house, I would have been upset by their lackadaisical attitude," Phillip Wanning said.

Another neighbor, Jack Siebert, said he wasn't troubled by firefighters' response to the fire. He said firefighters probably didn't rush to get into the house because Fritsch's neighbors told them Fritsch was not in the house. Siebert said he thought it took firefighters seven to eight minutes to get to the burning house after his wife, Bonnie, called 911.

Deputy Fire Chief Derald Murrell gave a different account. Murrell said it took three minutes and 20 seconds for the first fire engine from 48th Street and Claire Avenue to arrive at the fire scene. After arriving, the fire captain of the engine began making assignments to firefighters, such as shutting off utilities and ventilation in the house. The Fire Department, Murrell said, has a safety policy that requires a fire engine team that arrives first at a fire to wait for a second team before entering a burning house. That way, firefighters have backup should anything go wrong.

It took the second fire engine, which came from Cotner Boulevard and A Street, two minutes after the first engine arrived to get to the burning house, Murrell said. It then took two to three minutes to get the hoses flowing. "It does take a little while to set up our operation," Murrell said. "We do things in a systematic manner, and that works for us."

Nevertheless, Murrell said, he could understand why the process might seem inefficient to concerned neighbors. "It seems like a long time when you're calling for help."