TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - Toledo City Council members say they are now reviewing a report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health regarding a north Toledo fire that killed two firefighters in January of 2014.
The report offered recommendations on how to improve the Toledo Fire Department's function.
“It does give an objective view of the events of that day,” said Councilman Mike Craig. “It's always good to get a third party to look at your operations and give suggestions.”
As elected officials, council members say it's part of their duty to provide this kind of information for the citizens of Toledo.
“I think the public has a right to know,” said Councilman Tom Waniewski. “And as a representative of the public, I think we need to ask the questions, get the public the right answers.”
The report outlined suggestions that could be implemented, and city council members are confident it will be looked at subjectively by the Toledo Fire Department.
“I'm not going to get out of it what the fire chief, or what a captain or even a private will get out of it,” Craig said. “They have a much different perspective than I do. And theirs is the perspective that counts.”
The next steps are figuring out a way to ensure safety for all of Toledo, including its emergency personnel.
“The goal of asking the questions and looking at the report is to determine what went wrong, and how best to mitigate it so it never happens again,” Waniewski said. “And that's what I hope will come out of something like this.”
Councilman Craig, whose father was a firefighter, said regular reviews like this report could be helpful.
“It shouldn't take a tragedy like this to have somebody come in and review your operations,” he said.
