VIDEO: The Detroit Firefighters Association is calling for action after a terrifying fire. Four firefighters found themselves trapped inside a burning building.
The fire started on January 31, just before midnight at a vacant grocery store at Van Dyke and Gratiot.
7 Action News has obtained the dispatch recording. In it you hear the command officer on the scene report there are four firefighters trapped in the building.
A second alarm is then called for, so back-up responds. Was that enough?
“This incident right here, we are very lucky that we didn’t lose some of our members,” said Mike Nevin, the President of the Detroit Firefighters Association.
Nevin says three firefighters are now off the job, recovering from non-life-threatening burns. He believes their injuries could have been prevented had the department had different policies.
He shared with 7 Action News copies of Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration complaints he filed asking for more Rapid Intervention Crew Training at the department.
Such training would teach crews how to best react if a firefighter is down.