A press release issued recently by Fall River Police Chief Daniel Racine states that a fire dispatcher has been terminated for not appropriately responding to a trouble alarm at the vacant Coughlin School.
Investigators concluded that if Dispatcher Amy Robinson of Fall River had sent an engine company with three firefighters to the early morning alarm on August 22nd as is protocol when the first trouble alarm sounded around 1:00 a.m., the massive fire that swept through the vacant school building could have been avoided.
The Coughlin School, under a purchase and sales agreement, suffered heavy roof and structural damage as a result of the blaze.
Meanwhile, Fall River’s Human Resources Director Madelyn Coelho, and Rachel Rapoza, president of AFSCME Local 3177 that includes representation of the dispatchers, both confirmed the union filed a grievance in relation to the firing on Thursday. It is being reported that Ms. Robinson has worked in her dispatcher capacity for the last eleven and a half years without incident before her being let go.
Stay tuned for further updates.
Fire background photo courtesy
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