DFD = FAIL

[Dustdevil]

http://cbs11tv.com/local/Burned.Body.Found.2.943956.html

(video at above link)

Feb 25, 2009 4:16 pm US/Central

Six Days After Fire, Body Found In Burnt House

Seema Mathur

DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―

A body was found inside a burned house Wednesday morning, days after the fire was put out.

The family of the burned man wants to know how the fire department missed their family member.

Wednesday morning Ernest Sirlis' family came back to the house on the 2700 block of Cross Street in Dallas for any sign of their missing family member. They were shocked to find what they believed was his burned body.

The family said Sirlis was recently released from prison and homeless. They say he would sometimes sleep at the Salvation Army and on other nights he would sleep in the home on Cross Street.

Firefighters say they thought the home was vacant when it caught on fire on Feb. 20. They said the strength of the fire and a fallen utility pole prevented them from entering the burning house.

"The reason the victim was missed is because there was an undetermined amount of debris covering him as well as a lot of foam that had been put on the fire that had been put out," said Ernest Gurule, Dallas Fire and Rescue.

Firefighters say they checked the house twice after the fire was put out and did not find a body.

However, Sirlis' nephew said when he came to the house for more answers on his missing uncle he found a body right away.

"Six days for a body to be here and to be rotting and for the fire department to respond to the fire and not find the body… I think it was just laziness by the fire department," said Charles Hibbler, Sirlis' nephew.

The fire department is reviewing their policy from top firefighters to the newest rookie to examine how they missed finding the body.

[spenac]

Wow that sucks.

But why are they upset they basically ignored him when he was living? If truly concerned wouldn't they have him live with them or provide him an apartment?

[Steve Whitehead]

Homeless convict or not, that's a bad day.

[JakeEMTP]

Epic FAIL! I agree with Steve. It really isn't supposed to matter who.

[Chief1C]

Convict, Homeless.. They can't argue that he was still alive. What's the difference, why weren't they there on the first day? Just looking for $$.

[Timmy]

I agree, this is sloppy firefighting! When we attended structure fires its part of the team leaders reasonability to ensure everyone has vacated the building. If it’s safe to go in a provide search and rescue then we do so. If not and were forced to do an external attack we make contact with the owner and ensure the building has been vacated or any information on people who may still be in the building is followed up on.

Basically:

House Fire > no residence home > Search and Rescue > Phone call to owner of property to gain information regarding anything we need to know.

[Dustdevil]

Yeah, this place wasn't exactly the Taj Mahal. It would have taken all of two minutes to thoroughly search the entire structure. Very sloppy.

[itku2er]

Well I agree it shouldnt matter what type person he was he deserved to live like anyone else. They should have done a search to see if there was anyone there.

[brentoli]

I agree, this is sloppy firefighting! When we attended structure fires its part of the team leaders reasonability to ensure everyone has vacated the building. If it’s safe to go in a provide search and rescue then we do so. If not and were forced to do an external attack we make contact with the owner and ensure the building has been vacated or any information on people who may still be in the building is followed up on.

Basically:

House Fire > no residence home > Search and Rescue > Phone call to owner of property to gain information regarding anything we need to know.

Well I agree it shouldnt matter what type person he was he deserved to live like anyone else. They should have done a search to see if there was anyone there.

"Firefighters say they thought the home was vacant when it caught on fire on Feb. 20. They said the strength of the fire and a fallen utility pole prevented them from entering the burning house. "

Sounds like, fire conditions were bad enough when they arrived that interior wasn't an option. That doesn't preclude a secondary search for bodies during and after the investigation.

I don't want to Monday Morning QB these guys, but something did go wrong. Assuming what they told the media though, the victim wouldn't be viable when they did arrive. That makes sense seeing that it is a vacant structure, those usually have fire through the roof and windows before someone call it in, just because no one notices it.

[Richard B the EMT]

A former partner from one of the non 9-1-1 ambulance services I worked for in years past, who is now a (FDNY EMS Command) Lieutenant told me a story, that his VFD put out a structure fire, and was starting to board up the building, when they found a badly burned body, hidden under the door they had knocked down to gain entry to the building. The victim had been hidden under the door they had been stepping on as they entered and exited the building for a couple of hours. My associate was feeling horrible about it for a week following the event.

Admittedly, it was within hours of them fighting the fire, but...

Several days?

Sometimes, no matter if it is someone looking for insurance $$$ or just slowly trying to track someone down, as one person checking several leads to find someone who might not want to be found (for whatever reason), it will take time.

Unrelated to finding a person in a burned out house, but related to the time needed in some missing person searches, I have an ex girlfriend who was trying to find a twin brother, who had been adopted separately from her. It was her birth family actually found her, first, and that took some 30 plus years.

I've sent, privately, her story file, to several members of EMT City, already. (The brother would eventually be found, too)