NILES Report on fire call to be released by city

Investigators wanted to get information from all agencies involved with the fire.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- A report detailing what happened during a house fire that put the city's fire department in the spotlight should be released by Friday.
Tom Telego, Niles' emergency management coordinator, said members of the investigative team met Wednesday afternoon to finalize the report, which includes several pages of text and appendixes.
"It was much more complicated than we originally thought," said Telego, who heads the investigative team. Also involved are Mayor Ralph A. Infante, Safety Director Maurice Guarino and Fire Chief Charles Semple.
Telego said the group wanted to gather information from all agencies involved with the Jan. 15 fire at 2782 Robbins Ave., including the city fire department, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Weathersfield Township volunteer fire department.
"We wanted to make sure we had as much information as possible, so there would be as few questions possible," Telego said.
Didn't fight fire
City firefighters have been criticized for not fighting the fire once they arrived, but instead waiting for township fire crews to arrive.
The issue has made national news, and has been disputed by several firefighting agencies.
The initial call about the blaze came from a cellular phone, which is automatically transferred to the state patrol. From there, city crews were mistakenly dispatched to the structure, which is actually located in McKinley Heights, which is under the jurisdiction of Weathersfield Township.
At the time, the city and the township did not have a mutual aid agreement. As of last week, the two entities developed a mutual aid pact, and the city is actively pursuing similar agreements with all other communities that share its borders.
slshaulis@vindy.com