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By TOM EVANS

Times Staff Writer


STAMFORD -- A response to a fire alarm on Middle Patent Road on July 24 has again raised the issue of fire department protocol, and a public hearing before the Board of Representatives' Public Health and Safety Committee last week began to address those concerns.

The latest concerns come less than three months after confusion among responders let a fire on Deep Valley Trail cause much more damage than some officials believe should have.

At a public hearing July 1 to go over problems from the May 10 fire on Deep Valley Trail, Long Ridge Fire Company Chief Robert Bennett assured those in attendance that his department would never again call off assistance before reaching the scene.

Much of the discussion on Aug. 26 centered around the audio recordings of the various people on radio that afternoon, including Stamford dispatchers, a representative from the alarm company, and several fire officials en route. The timeline of events was also analyzed.

The most recent incident was an alarm from Lionshare Farm at 69 Middle Patent Road, owned and operated by U.S. equestrian champion and Olympic silver medalist Peter Leone.

Dozens of champion-caliber horses are housed in the 35,000-square-foot wooden bark and paddock, with living quarters in the upper story. The farm occupies 95 acres in Stamford, and borders on Greenwich and Banksville, N.Y.

On Thursday, Aug. 26, committee co-chairman Scott Mirkin said these are two distinct events and should not be lumped together. Mirkin said he took a 12-minute drive from Long Ridge Fire Company to Lionshare, then drove the five minutes from the farm to the Banksville, N.Y. Fire Department.

"This is completely different than the Deep Valley Trail incident," Mirkin said. "This is not the same. People were on the way, including the Banksville chief."

William J. Smith III, deputy chief for Stamford Fire & Rescue, said a lone chief responding without apparatus was not the proper response. Smith added that he made the drive from Long Ridge to Lionshare, a trip that took "25 to 30 minutes, a long time."

"What occurred was that there was nobody on the scene when the units were canceled -- no apparatus, no personnel," Smith said. "The facility manager is new there -- she'd been there a month -- in a 35,000-square-foot facility with many valuable horses that is a world-class equestrian center. Workers checked the (alarm) panel, and she said there didn't appear to be anything wrong, so she didn't want to inconvenience the fire department."

As far as Smith is concerned, Banksville Chief Walter Watson was not yet on scene -- and thus not able to make a thorough evaluation of the scene -- when Long Ridge Engine 71 canceled all other units and directed all Long Ridge units to return to quarters.

"If Banksville is taking the call, and all units were canceled, then what we did have was a repeat of Deep Valley Trail," Smith said. "I find it reprehensible to have all units going back at that time. Chief Watson was not on the scene when the units were canceled. He wasn't there when anyone was canceled. He got there, investigated, and re-set the (alarm) panel."

Adding to the confusion was the alarm company's attempts to cancel the call, saying "that (the alarm) is probably from the heat."

"Engine 71 did go over (to Lionshare Farm)," said Stuart Tuttle, chairman of the board of the Long Ridge Fire Company. "When an alarm company cancels a call, we finish the response with one engine and turn around the other units. That's a common practice. Banksville has been a mutual-aid partner since 1953, and Banksville was not told to turn around. They were acting on our behalf."

Committee member Joseph Coppola was satisfied that Watson, and his nearby department, had the situation under control.

"From what I heard (on the audio recordings), no one was put in danger," Coppola said. "From what I'm led to believe, the chief of Banksville responded in a fire chief vehicle, not that apparatus didn't get there. The chief got there first."

That did not satisfy Smith.

"I was at the public hearings (on July 1) and heard a statement, (a) promise that no cancellations would occur in Long Ridge Volunteer Fire Department alarms without an on-scene size-up," Smith said. "This type of disservice to the public is negligent and will probably expose the City of Stamford to potential lawsuits."

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