Councilman Miguel Luna, in the wake of March, 2006 incidents in which nearly two dozen city firefighters were examined for symptoms related to cyanide exposure — and three were found to have cyanide levels sufficiently high to warrant a chemical antidote — formally requested that Providence Fire Chief David D. Costa present to the City Council the findings and recommendations of his investigative panel examining the events in question.
Chief Costa has been invited to do so on Thursday, May 25, at 6 PM, in Committee Room “A” at Providence City Hall.
“I’m pleased to note that Council President John J. Lombardi shares my concerns and promptly helped facilitate my request,” said Councilman Luna. “I also laud Chief Costa for what I anticipate will be his prompt and due diligence, and my colleagues on the Council for their collective commitment to swift action.”
Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline had directed Chief Costa to form a task force to review the events leading to the cyanide exposure. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) lent assistance to the inquiry; its participation, given that NIOSH limits site visits to between 50 and 100 per year nationwide, underscores the seriousness of threats posed to firefighters by cyanide exposure.
“It is my understanding that there have not been any national studies on the incidents of cyanide poisoning among firefighters,” said Councilman Luna. “Yet this potentially lethal gas, which is produced when substances that contain combinations of carbon and nitrogen are ignited, may be far more prevalent in so-called ‘routine’ fires than we’ve ever suspected.”
Councilman Luna noted that, to date, all parties involved in the investigation have moved with “the ideal combination of deliberation and dispatch.” He added that, “Investigating and reporting amount to the first half of our mission. It then falls to lawmakers to evaluate recommendations, and draft and enact ordinances to bring about needed change. Time, we can be certain, is of the essence.”