A Baltimore fire instructor and a division chief have been suspended amid reports that last week?s fatal training exercise was not in compliance with national standards, the department said.
Days after a cadet died in a burning West Baltimore building, Division Chief of Training Kenneth Hyde and fire instructor Lt. Joseph Crest were suspended without pay as the investigation into the incident continued.
Fire Chief Kevin Cartwright declined to specify how the training fire that killed Rachael Wilson, a 29-year-old mother of two, Friday afternoon was out of compliance with the regulations, according to preliminary investigation reports.
Firefighters rushed to rescue Wilson, who entered the academy in November, after she collapsed in the burning building.
Paramedics worked to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, officials said.
Cartwright disputed reports that similar training exercises, involving the live burning of vacant dwellings, have been called off in the aftermath of Wilson?s death.
Officials are considering such a step, he said, but have not yet made a decision.
Though the hazards are real, Cartwright said it is “essential” for recruits to learn firefighting techniques while facing flames in controlled settings.
“It would be a disservice to allow them to go out the door to their first” real call without having fought a fire before, he said.
A funeral is planned for Wilson at 11 a.m. on Friday at the New Psalmist Baptist Church at 4501 Old Frederick Road in Baltimore, Cartwright said.
