NILES FIRE Official details what led to mix-up

The city now has a verbal mutual-aid agreement with the township.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Investigators say they are not looking to assign blame, but do want to find ways to ensure a mix-up that occurred during a house fire last week never happens again.
Tom Telego, the city's emergency management coordinator, told council during Wednesday's meeting that limited communication between the Niles and Weathersfield fire departments, confusion about where the house was actually located and the lack of a mutual-aid agreement between the city and township were contributing factors in the mix-up.
At the heart of the matter is whether firefighters from the city's department acted accordingly when they were mistakenly dispatched to a fire at 2782 Robbins Ave., which is not in the city but in McKinley Heights, a portion of Weathersfield Township.
Didn't fight fire
Crews from the city have come under fire in the last week for not fighting the blaze, but rather waiting until volunteers from Weathersfield's department arrived. City firefighters made sure no one was trapped in the home when they arrived shortly after 1 p.m., but after determining the home was outside the city's limits, they waited until crews from the other department arrived.
Weathersfield crews were on the scene within a few minutes, and were able to contain the fire to a bedroom and a portion of the attic.
Since the township and city had no mutual-aid agreement, city firefighters were not legally obligated to fight the fire.
Telego noted during his statement that the mutual-aid situation has since changed.
"As of today, we have a verbal mutual-aid agreement with Weathersfield," he said. "And we hope to establish one with every community who borders us."
Telego, Mayor Ralph A. Infante, Safety Director Maurice Guarino and Fire Chief Charles Semple have been investigating the incident since last Friday. No formal complaint was filed against the city or the fire department, however.
While the investigation is not yet complete, Telego said, initial interviews with all departments involved show there were "breakdowns in vital communications," especially between the two fire departments.
He also noted that officials are using the situation as an impetus to review the department's standard operating procedure and make revisions and updates as they see fit.
Infante told council that the incident has cast a bad light on the department, a situation that he sees as unfortunate and unnecessary.
"This is one of the best departments in the state," he said. "And I will stick through with that to the end of the investigation."
Telego said the team plans to complete the investigation and release a full report to council and the public by the beginning of next week.
slshaulis@vindy.com