Questions raised about Detroit's response to fires

Detroit -- City officials and residents on Wednesday were searching for answers -- and trying to assess blame -- in the wake of wind-swept fires that destroyed entire city blocks.

During a press conference in his office Wednesday, Mayor Dave Bing defended the city's response to the 10 fires, which spread to 85 structures throughout the city, calling it the result of a "natural disaster." He was referring to the wind gusts of up to 50 mph and arid conditions Tuesday night. Downed power lines also contributed, he said.

Of the 66 Detroit Fire Department companies, eight were idle Tuesday because of budgetary constraints -- but Bing insisted that the reduced number of active companies did not play a role in the spread of the fires, eight of which were blamed on 62 downed power lines, with two others the result of suspected arsons. Illegal hookups to utility lines also may have contributed.

"There are a lot of people who are naysayers who say, 'You don't have enough equipment; you don't have enough people,' " Bing said. "But with a natural disaster ... I don't think you can appropriately plan for that."

Detroit Fire Commissioner James Mack said he wouldn't have done anything differently, other than to ask other cities for help earlier than he did. Five neighboring communities helped put out the fires -- the first time the city has called for mutual aid since the 1967 riots, officials said..

"You need to appreciate the men and women who work for the city of Detroit," Mack said.

But residents weren't so quick to praise the city's response.

"It didn't have to be like this," said Sharon Kelso, who said she dialed 911 several times to report a small fire in the alley near her northwest Detroit home, which eventually escalated into a blaze that destroyed several homes.

"I called 911 and the phone rang and rang," Kelso said. "Finally, the call was disconnected. Then I drove to the fire station a few blocks away; nobody was there. A Detroit traffic officer came up and saw the fire, and he was trying to get through to someone, but he wasn't getting anybody, either. So we just stood there and watched while this thing got bigger and bigger. Finally, an hour later, they sent one truck."

Residents also criticized DTE Energy for failing to respond to several reports of downed lines and people stealing power.

Stacey Parks, whose mother's home on Robinwood on the east side suffered extensive damage, said her mother called DTE Energy on Friday to complain about a fire and whizzing noises coming from a transformer behind a nearby house. She said DTE did not respond.

"We saw it sparking," Parks said of the transformer, adding that her mother called DTE again to complain that someone had shimmied up a utility pole, likely for an illegal hookup.

DTE spokesman John Austerberry said the company responded to the complaints on Tuesday, although he said he didn't know which specific complaints the crews addressed.

"We looked into the Robinwood Street situation; a crew responded to calls about low voltage and flickering lights," he said. "The crew patrolled the Robinwood area. We found and repaired a problem. That was before the fires were reported; the crews left about 4:30."

Officials defend response

DTE estimates that as many as 70,000 Michigan homes and businesses -- or roughly 3 percent of DTE's customers -- are stealing natural gas and electricity. And the bulk of the illegal hookups are in Detroit.

Kelso questioned why the city didn't have a better plan.

"Why wasn't there a backup plan?" she asked. "When a police officer can't get through to the Fire Department to report a fire that's going out of control, then something's wrong."

Mack said it's difficult trying to balance public safety with a dwindling budget, but defended his decision to keep eight to 10 companies idle each day. "Everybody knows we're under budget constraints," Mack said. "On an average day, we have 35 fires a day, and we cover those fires. As director of a department, I have to be responsible financially and for the safety of the public. We walk that fine line. Yes, I do stand by that decision."

Bing -- who attended the premiere of the television series "Detroit 1-8-7" Tuesday when the fires broke out -- bristled when a reporter pointed out that he had sat on DTE Energy's board of directors for more than 20 years, and questioned whether the city could have responded better.

"It seems to me what you are asking us to do is to be able to give you ... some kind of plan less than 24 hours after this happened," Bing said. "I think, intelligently, we have to sit down and gather the facts and talk to the appropriate people both here in the city of Detroit as it relates to this administration and DTE. ... We have not done that."

Bing said he planned to sit down with DTE and city officials within the next 24 to 48 hours.

Added Mack: "There was a plan: For us to respond. And that's what we did."

Flashback to '80s

Mack called Tuesday's events "extraordinary circumstances."

"I've been on this department 32 years, and the closest I've seen were the Angels' Night fires in the '80s," the chief said.

The fires Tuesday paled in comparison to the Devil's Night carnage seen during the 1980s, which peaked at more than 800 fires in 1984. In the 1990s, city officials renamed the ritual "Angels' Night."

Last year, the city responded to 119 fires -- 91 of which were suspicious -- over the three-day Angels' Night period, which usually begins just before Halloween.

Mack said he wasn't sure how many families were displaced by Tuesday's fires, but said the Salvation Army was helping two families.

John Mozena, spokesman for the American Red Cross, southeastern Michigan chapter, said 40 people were assisted by the agency Tuesday and Wednesday, including nine families who were helped with emergency housing in hotels.

Detroit News Staff Writer Steve Pardo contributed.