A fatal Saturday night blaze on Raphael Road near DeFuniak Springs has reignited a war of words between the Liberty Fire District and Walton County Fire Rescue. Liberty Fire Chief John Dunham said crews under his command called “two or three times” for Walton County to dispatch an ambulance to the scene of a structure fire at a home on W. Raphael Road, but it took 20 minutes for one to arrive.
“It’s not right for the citizens of Liberty. They pay taxes for EMS and they aren’t getting EMS service, we have to ask for it,” Dunham said Monday.
Walton County Fire Chief Bobby Martin countered by saying Liberty Fire District, which refuses to sign a mutual aid agreement with the county, never requested assistance until units entered the home and found a body.
“How are we to know to go?” he asked.
Nothing that anyone did or didn’t do Saturday likely would have been enough to save Bob Batchelor, officials said. Dispatch records show the home was engulfed in flames before any emergency personnel arrived.
Batchelor, a blind amputee, bravely perished while fighting the fire inside his home, officials said.