The Wisconsin State Journal
MADISON, Wis. — The family of a man killed in a 2013 fire on Madison’s South Side has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Dane County, the 911 center and its director, alleging that the delayed dispatch of firefighters led to the man’s death.
Christopher G. Williams, 51, died on Oct. 16, 2013, in a fire at his apartment at 6425 Bridge Road, an incident that highlighted the need for changes at the 911 center amid criticism that it failed to meet national standards for answering and dispatching emergency calls.
On Friday, Williams’ parents, William and Nancy Williams, along with his brother, James, and sister, Constance, filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified compensation for Williams’ death.
They allege that dispatchers were negligent in promptly sending firefighters to Williams’ apartment after the 911 center received calls about the fire.
In a memo written in June, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi wrote that it took Madison firefighters 10 minutes to arrive at the fire, while Monona firefighters were closer but were not sent.
Fire department spokeswoman Bernadette Galvez said the cause of the fire was not determined.
Dispatchers, the lawsuit alleges, “failed to properly follow policies, procedures and protocols implemented by Dane County to ensure prompt dispatch of firefighters to fires and were negligent in other aspects of handling the call regarding the fire.”
It also says 911 center director John DeJung “knew or should have known of the problems in dispatching emergency responders, including firefighters, to emergencies such as is described herein and knew those problems created an imminent threat to public safety.”
The lawsuit also accuses DeJung of failing to create and implement adequate policies and procedures on the dispatch of firefighters, and that the procedures and protocols in place at the time were deficient and caused a delay in dispatching firefighters.
DeJung and other county workers also failed to adequately supervise and train dispatchers, the lawsuit alleges.
Dane County risk manager Dan Lowndes said Monday that the county had not been served with the lawsuit and could not comment on open litigation.
The Williams family’s lawyer, Terrence Polich, said the County Board denied a claim brought by the Williams family, leaving them with six months to file a lawsuit.
Last year, Parisi made a series of changes at the 911 center, including a “pre-alerting” protocol for more critical fire and emergency medical incidents.
Among other changes, the county also changed call-taking protocol to shorten call waiting time.
Parisi also has advocated dropping jurisdictional boundaries between municipalities to allow the nearest responders to answer calls.
The County Board also approved a measure in November to dissolve the 911 center board and replace it with an advisory commission, giving more decision-making power over the 911 center to Parisi and the County Board.
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