Elmont neighbors: 911 system failed
Tenant found dead in house fire could have been saved, they say
UPDATED 12/22/10 9:20 a.m.
A 33-year-old man who was found dead in his Elmont apartment during a fire Monday night might have been rescued if the 911 emergency system had not failed, neighbors said.
When they saw flames shooting from the back of the home, at 1559 Madison St., neighbors said, they called 911 several times, but heard only a recorded announcement. They said it took about 20 minutes for firefighters to arrive.
“It’s just horrible that they couldn’t get here in time,” said Kim Santoli, who lives across the street from the victim. “I’m upset because 911 is supposed to be a safety net when you’re in trouble. But we kept calling and calling and no one came.”
She said she does not blame the Elmont Fire Department for the delayed response. “The Elmont Fire Department did a wonderful job,” Santoli said. “It was the 911 service that couldn’t get anybody here. There was a big lag in time when we called.”
She said she called on her cell phone, her husband called on the house phone and a neighbor called as well, but to no avail.
Neighbors, she said, got so frustrated that they took matters into their own hands and kicked open the victim’s door. The man’s dog escaped the fire, and a cat survived as well, Santoli said.
Nassau County Police Department Lt. Kevin Smith said the incident is under investigation. “It’s definitely something that we’re looking into,” he said.
Smith said that between 6:10 p.m. and 6:14 p.m. Monday, the 911 operator received eight calls from Madison Street, which were all hang-ups. “That was unusual,” said Smith. “A red flag went up for us. Were people hanging up on us or was there some disconnection in the system?”
He said that sometimes in an emergency, callers get frustrated and hang up too quickly, and then they call again and are pushed to the back of the line. “They should stay on the line,” he said.
Smith added that the public safety section of the Police Department was recently relocated “and we want to make sure that there’s nothing wrong with the system. We are trying to determine if there’s a problem on our end.”
The victim, whose identity was still being withheld on Wednesday, was found in the bathroom of the home, fire officials said. He lived with his parents in the building, which they were renting.
