UTFFEMT
08-30-2005, 02:08 PM
Were volunteer firefighters snubbed?
State official denies keeping Roosevelt, Neola forces from fire
By Lezlee E. Whiting
For the Deseret Morning News
NEOLA, Duchesne County — A nearly contained fire that has burned at least 4,000 acres northeast of Neola would have been much smaller if the state had allowed volunteer firefighters to respond earlier, community leaders and volunteers said Monday.
Dale Jablonski, northeast area manager for the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands in charge of managing the blaze, denies prohibiting dispatchers with Vernal's Central Dispatch from calling out the Neola or Roosevelt fire departments.
But several people said he was the one holding the volunteers at bay while the fire, which was reported just before noon Saturday, just got bigger. LaConna Davis, central dispatcher with the Uinta Basin Interagency Fire Center, confirmed a directive was received not to call out volunteer fire crews in Neola who were just 10 minutes from the blaze, which was 90 percent contained late Monday.
"Dale Jablonski did not authorize that so we did not send them because Dale was in charge," she said, adding that his calls to dispatchers were recorded. The directive is also why there was no response to calls from Duchesne County Sheriff's Deputy Wade Butterfield to send crews in addition to Bureau of Indian Affairs fire trucks that were not in position to fight the blaze, although it came near homes in the area, Davis said.
"We relayed that (Butterfield's message) to Jablonski and he did not want the volunteer fire departments there," she said.
Jablonski insists he has "no clue" who made calls to Central Dispatch to prevent volunteer fire crews from being paged out. He also said he didn't know who was serving as the incident commander prior to the time he took over. He referred calls to Kirby Arrive, fire management officer for BIA.
Arrive said he was out of the area over the weekend and still needed to find time to talk to his crews. "I can't really make comment until I get further information and tell you this went on and that went on and see what transpired and how it came together," he said. Crews were out dousing hot spots Monday morning, he added.
Cheryl Nelson, Uinta Basin Interagency Fire Center manager, said she was never aware of any orders where Jablonski refused to allow nearby volunteer fire crews to assist at the scene of the blaze.
Neola Fire Chief Rex Olsen said Butterfield told him he had been told not to page out the Neola Fire Department. At close to 2 p.m. — about two hours after the blaze erupted — flames had reached 35 feet in height and were heading toward homes, when Olsen dispatched his department and called for assistance from Roosevelt, 15 miles away.
"When I got there I had 15 to 20 minutes to organize my group with Roosevelt city and get a plan of attack," Olsen said. "Before we knew it, the fire was on top of us."
Together with neighbors, Neola and Roosevelt firefighters managed to create a firebreak and save a home with flames only moments away from reaching it, Olsen said. The flames did destroy a home under construction and construction materials, along with a trailer office, and a double-wide trailer where a family was living.
"As a homeowner I don't understand why they didn't use the 10-minute call out," said area home owner Michael Whiting. "If it wasn't for the Neola Fire Department, Jim Taylor would have lost his house. They did a heck of a job."
Jablonski said he didn't have anything to do with the blaze until it was at its height, saying he only arrived on the scene when Neola and Roosevelt firefighters were already there. He said his main goal was to formulate a plan that was going to be safe and workable as he transitioned command with those already on the scene.
"I am coming into a situation where it's a large fire, things are going quite hectic and I am trying to get my feet on the ground and figure out who is where, how do we talk to one another and how do we develop a plan . . . before I put anyone in harm's way," he said. "That's what I was faced with."
State official denies keeping Roosevelt, Neola forces from fire
By Lezlee E. Whiting
For the Deseret Morning News
NEOLA, Duchesne County — A nearly contained fire that has burned at least 4,000 acres northeast of Neola would have been much smaller if the state had allowed volunteer firefighters to respond earlier, community leaders and volunteers said Monday.
Dale Jablonski, northeast area manager for the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands in charge of managing the blaze, denies prohibiting dispatchers with Vernal's Central Dispatch from calling out the Neola or Roosevelt fire departments.
But several people said he was the one holding the volunteers at bay while the fire, which was reported just before noon Saturday, just got bigger. LaConna Davis, central dispatcher with the Uinta Basin Interagency Fire Center, confirmed a directive was received not to call out volunteer fire crews in Neola who were just 10 minutes from the blaze, which was 90 percent contained late Monday.
"Dale Jablonski did not authorize that so we did not send them because Dale was in charge," she said, adding that his calls to dispatchers were recorded. The directive is also why there was no response to calls from Duchesne County Sheriff's Deputy Wade Butterfield to send crews in addition to Bureau of Indian Affairs fire trucks that were not in position to fight the blaze, although it came near homes in the area, Davis said.
"We relayed that (Butterfield's message) to Jablonski and he did not want the volunteer fire departments there," she said.
Jablonski insists he has "no clue" who made calls to Central Dispatch to prevent volunteer fire crews from being paged out. He also said he didn't know who was serving as the incident commander prior to the time he took over. He referred calls to Kirby Arrive, fire management officer for BIA.
Arrive said he was out of the area over the weekend and still needed to find time to talk to his crews. "I can't really make comment until I get further information and tell you this went on and that went on and see what transpired and how it came together," he said. Crews were out dousing hot spots Monday morning, he added.
Cheryl Nelson, Uinta Basin Interagency Fire Center manager, said she was never aware of any orders where Jablonski refused to allow nearby volunteer fire crews to assist at the scene of the blaze.
Neola Fire Chief Rex Olsen said Butterfield told him he had been told not to page out the Neola Fire Department. At close to 2 p.m. — about two hours after the blaze erupted — flames had reached 35 feet in height and were heading toward homes, when Olsen dispatched his department and called for assistance from Roosevelt, 15 miles away.
"When I got there I had 15 to 20 minutes to organize my group with Roosevelt city and get a plan of attack," Olsen said. "Before we knew it, the fire was on top of us."
Together with neighbors, Neola and Roosevelt firefighters managed to create a firebreak and save a home with flames only moments away from reaching it, Olsen said. The flames did destroy a home under construction and construction materials, along with a trailer office, and a double-wide trailer where a family was living.
"As a homeowner I don't understand why they didn't use the 10-minute call out," said area home owner Michael Whiting. "If it wasn't for the Neola Fire Department, Jim Taylor would have lost his house. They did a heck of a job."
Jablonski said he didn't have anything to do with the blaze until it was at its height, saying he only arrived on the scene when Neola and Roosevelt firefighters were already there. He said his main goal was to formulate a plan that was going to be safe and workable as he transitioned command with those already on the scene.
"I am coming into a situation where it's a large fire, things are going quite hectic and I am trying to get my feet on the ground and figure out who is where, how do we talk to one another and how do we develop a plan . . . before I put anyone in harm's way," he said. "That's what I was faced with."