TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo City Councilman Larry Sykes issued an apology Tuesday following a heated exchange with members of the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department.
On Saturday, Sykes made a now-deleted Facebook post that implies criticism toward Toledo fire personnel after a woman in a wheelchair fell in front of a TFRD building:
"Last Friday I was leaving the government center and saw this women in a wheelchair take a spill in front fire station one. I pulled my suv over and put on my flashier as I got out calling 911 for assistance. Would you believe the assistant came from almost a mile away from the station on Huron and mulberry! The lady was crying and screaming I believe she broke her arm and I had to yell to them to cover her with a d.. blanket. Unbelievable, can’t wait until I get to the government center Tuesday."
Sykes expressed frustration that after calling 911, a different station responded. However, leaders with TFRD say the building in front of which the woman fell was actually the Toledo Fire and Rescue headquarters, an administrative building. On Tuesday, a post was made by the Toledo Firefighters union that seems to take a jab at the city council member.
TFRD spokesperson Sterling Rahe refuted Sykes' claim that they responded too late to the scene, saying their response time was actually quicker than expectation.
"Our goal is to respond within - be on scene - our goal is always about four minutes. That's what we typically like. Sometimes, we don't obtain that for various reasons, but in this case we exceeded that. We were able to be on scene within three minutes," Rahe said.
Fire Chief Bryan Byrd says that he feels crews handled the situation to the best of their abilities.
"We even had one of our administrative captains who was here before the engine - went above and beyond and even helped transport the lady's boyfriend and her wheelchair over to the hospital. So, this accusation that we were somehow doing less than what we should have is just grossly incorrect," Byrd said.
Tuesday evening, Sykes released this statement as an apology:
"I want to publicly apologize for a post I made on Saturday evening after assisting a woman that tipped over in her wheelchair behind Government Center. After feedback from our firefighters and community members, I learned that the tone of the post implied that our firefighters do not respond to calls for service in a timely manner. That was not my intent.
Our firefighters responded to this call within 3 minutes of the initial call and while I was on the phone requesting service. I have the utmost respect for our firefighters, who are ready and willing to risk their lives every day for our community. Our city employees take pride in public service and the work they do each day on behalf of our community.
I am appreciative of their service and will be mindful of the tone of my post to ensure the message does not convey otherwise. Thank you for your service @toledofirerescue."