Medford firefighters failed to answer 911 call, punished

MEDFORD, Mass. (WHDH) -- Several firefighters are being punished after they didn't follow procedure when a 911 call came in.

The disciplinary action of four firefighters follows a midnight medical call on July 13 that resulted in the death of a patient.

Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn said, “Something obviously went wrong.” The fire chief and the mayor said the fire alarm operator failed to send the proper alert to a neighborhood station, adding the fire alarm operator did use radio system but the three firefighters’ radios were turned down too low and they never heard the call.

Armstrong Ambulance -- the city’s private ambulance operator -- did respond to the medical call, along with Medford Police.

Officials said the fire alarm operator recorded in a log that the fire department was on the scene; but they weren’t, which resulted in the fire alarm operator being suspended without pay for two weeks. The three other firefighters were given written reprimands.

The head of the Firefighters Union issued a statement that said, “The Medford firefighters take this issue very seriously. The firefighters involved are devastated. We are committed to working with the department to ensure this never happens again.”