Augusta Fire Department Chief Antonio Burden will address Augusta’s Public Safety Committee and announce some of his proposed changes to the department’s official policy manual Tuesday, Oct. 12.
According to a letter sent by City Administrator Odie Donald to Public Safety Chairman John Clarke, Burden has been working on needed policy changes since he took the job in May.
“During the early portion of his tenure, Chief Burden has focused on learning the nuances of the department, assessing the current organizational structure, framing the FY2022 budget and evaluating existing policies,” the letter reads.
According to the letter, the policy changes will focus on firefighter safety, sustainability of the current policy and making sure that the policy conforms to state law.
Clarke said that he and other commissioners have spoken to Burden about his needs.
“He has asked us for more money so that he can hire a second instructor, but he never addressed the problems with some of the policies of the department,” Clarke said.
The “problems” Clarke said he is referring to is the language in the current policy regarding under what circumstances firefighters can gain access into a private building. According to Clarke, the policy contradicts itself and makes it unclear when firefighters may force entry to attempt to save someone’s life, and that lack of clarity contributed to the death of 43-year-old Nichoel Gaither.
MORE: Antonio Burden Selected For Augusta Fire Chief
On April 21, Gaither suffered a medical emergency in her home and died on the floor of her bedroom, still holding her phone with 911 on the other end while Augusta firefighters milled around her front yard, according to the 911 recording.
A tape of the call indicates that Gaither told dispatchers she couldn’t breathe. The recording catches the moments when Gaither can hear help outside her door while she struggles to breathe.
Gaither can be heard begging for the emergency crews to break down the door.
The Gold Cross dispatcher relayed that information to the 911 dispatcher. The 911 dispatcher told the Gold Cross dispatcher that fire department officials, including a supervisor on the scene, said that they were waiting on a sheriff’s deputy to arrive before forcing their way into the home.
“I mean we, we’ve got it on a recorded line that, uh, she… she consented for them to force entry,” the Gold Cross dispatcher reiterates to the 911 dispatcher. He added, “She’s in obvious distress, she’s, like, getting worse.”
“Okay, I’ll, um, let ‘em know,” the 911 dispatcher responded.
Help would not come to Gaither in time. She was found dead in her bedroom, clutching her phone with the Gold Cross dispatcher trying to reassure her.
According to the recording, the 911 operator never gave the okay for approval to break through the door. The firefighters on the scene waited approximately 15 minutes for a sheriff’s deputy to arrive.
Clarke said he is aware that the breakdown in communication came from 911 operators but says that the city needs precise guidelines so that firefighters can do their jobs without fear of reprisal.
According to Clarke, Burden doesn’t necessarily have to wait to make that one policy change so that what happened to Gaither won’t happen to someone else.
“It is my understanding that he can make those changes and run it by legal. I think he could act on it now,” Clarke said.
Despite repeated attempts, Burden has not made himself available for comments.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
