[cifnmedia] Chicago cancels firefighters' testimony
- From: Sean & Kimberly Aaron <cifn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: CIFN LIST <cifnmedia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 08:37:20 -0800 (PST)
Chicago cancels firefighters' testimony in probe of deadly blaze
CHICAGO (AP) — City officials are being criticized for canceling the
testimony of two firefighters before an independent panel investigating
firefighters' response to a deadly blaze at a government building that killed
six people.
The city also has temporarily postponed testimony from four other firefighters
and is refusing to turn over a full report on the blaze, raising questions
about the city's willingness to cooperate.
If the city stops cooperating, the panel may seek subpoena power.
"I find it baffling that, in the midst of all the other issues the city is
currently confronting, that they would want to take on an independent
commission that's been created to get at the truth of what happened that day,"
said George Ellison, an attorney representing the commission. "The central
question is, what is the city afraid of?"
Six people died in a smoky stairwell during the Oct. 17 fire at the Cook County
Administration Building in downtown Chicago. Their deaths have been labeled
homicides because of the report's findings, which have not been released to the
public.
The panel, headed by a former appellate court judge, was formed to investigate
the fire department's response to the blaze and determine why it took 90
minutes for the victims to be found.
Jennifer Hoyle, spokeswoman for the city's Department of Law, said the panel's
interviews have become a drain on city resources.
Hoyle said that, under union rules, if one person is missing from a Fire
Department company, the whole company of four or five people cannot work
because of the burden on the understaffed unit.
"We had two interviews that were canceled," Hoyle said. "We had already done 18
interviews and each time we do that, we have to pull a whole fire company out
of service."
Hoyle also said that some information about the fire should not be made public
yet because it's the subject of a criminal investigation.
According to a summary of the fire department's report, the fire was man-made
but it is unclear whether the blaze was intentionally set.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Sean A. Aaron (CIFN*1)
Central Illinois Fire Network
cifn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.geocities.com/central_illinois_firenet
_____________________________________________________________
Get email for your site ---> http://www.everyone.net
Other related posts:
- » [cifnmedia] Chicago cancels firefighters' testimony
