The Fort Smith Fire Department has launched an internal review of its firefighters’ attempted rescue of newspaper carrier Debra Stevens before her drowning death.
The review, which Fire Chief Phil Christensen said happens after every critical incident, will assess the overall response of the Fire Department to Stevens, 47, who on the morning of Aug. 24 died inside her flooded vehicle in the 5800 block of Kinkead Avenue during record downpours. While he said such reviews are commonplace, Christensen said the battalion chief whose firefighters responded to the incident will interview each firefighter involved in the response that morning — a measure added to this specific review process.
“There hasn’t been any wrongdoing. It’s just to see if things could be done more efficiently in a similar incident,” Christensen said Friday, adding that none of the firefighters who responded to the incident have been placed on administrative leave.