Wichita firefighters union claims dispatch errors contributed to woman’s fire-related death
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – The Wichita chapter of the International Association of Firefighters held a press conference Tuesday afternoon claiming that errors made by Sedgwick County Emergency Communications led to a 22-year-old woman’s fire-related death last month.
The two-alarm fire happened at Brookhollow Apartments near Central and Rock Road, around 4 a.m. on Oct. 13. As crews battled the flames, a stairwell inside the building collapsed as firefighters searched for people inside. Four firefighters were caught in the collapse, issuing a “mayday” call, and Paoly Bedeski was killed. Three residents of the complex were hospitalized.
In a statement, the firefighters’ union said, “It’s important that the public is made aware of Paoly’s story and the steps that must be taken to ensure an incident like this never happens again.”
The union said Wichita firefighters were never told someone was trapped inside the building, making Bedeski’s death “senseless and preventable.” The union also said information provided by 911 callers, including Bedeski reporting that she was trapped in her bathroom, was not ed on to firefighters or EMS paramedics responding to the call.
Union President Ted Bush said if firefighters had that information, they could have done a more targeted search of the apartments.
“The whole time they’re out there, she was up there and we could’ve got her. I’m telling you, we could’ve got her,” Bush said. “She would be here today had we had that information.”
He said another issue is the second alarm - which was requested by the first units to arrive but wasn’t activated until much later.
“I have had more phone calls on this call, this tragedy, than any other alarm I can ever . They’re hurt - mentally, physically, sick over what happened at that fire. Knowing the whole time they’re out there, she was up there,” said Bush.
Bush called on city and county leaders to address the issues he said firefighters have been concerned about.
“This is not just a mistake on the fire ground and this is not a time to point fingers. I’m not pointing fingers. This is not a time for that. It’s time to be honest with each other and put one foot in front of the other and do and make the tough decisions that need to be made to fix this,” Bush said.
Bush called on local leaders to see emergency communications for the vital role it plays and provide the department with the resources needed.
Sedgwick County Emergency Communications Director Elora Forshee itted that there were issues with the handling of the fire call. She said the issues were addressed with her staff after meetings with the Wichita Fire istration.
As to the specific call from the Bedeski, Forshee said the information wasn’t ed on to firefighters because the 911 call takers were unable to understand what she was saying. Forshee said when dispatchers were able to get confirmation from another caller of people trapped, a fire chief in command was made aware.
“Unfortunately, the information about Miss Bedeski calling from apartment 306 was not intelligibly heard or understood on the phone from the dispatcher,” Forshee said. “There was not any understanding that she was trapped.”
As for the delay in the second alarm request for more units, Forshee said agreed more training was needed. She said department-wide training took place during the week before Thanksgiving.
“There were two people that were unable to identify how to send that second alarm,” said Forshee said. “When you have a systemic issue like that, that’s pervasive beyond one person I think training is needed.”
The union has said the emergency communications has operated poorly over the past several months, including responders being dispatched to the wrong address and an excessive wait time for callers to talk to a dispatcher.
Bush called for a third-party review of the 911 system which Forshee said she was not opposed to.
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