SEAL BEACH : Officials to Address Concerns About Fire

City officials will meet tonight with residents concerned that the Fire Department took too long to arrive at a St. Patrick’s Day fire that killed a woman and severely burned her boyfriend.

Some of the residents have alleged that the Fire Department took more than 20 minutes to arrive at the early-morning fire at a 13th Street duplex that killed Gay Kenyon, 24, and injured Ralph Royston, 35. However, city records show that only four minutes elapsed between the fire’s being reported and firefighters’ arrival on the scene.

Area residents have also complained that the 911 emergency telephone number was busy and that the firefighters’ efforts were hampered because they did not have the proper equipment to attach their hoses to fire hydrants.

In response to these complaints, City Manager Robert Nelson is scheduled to meet with residents at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers. Officials from the Fire and Police departments as well as the City Council and city administration are expected to attend the meeting.

Nelson said that there is no evidence in city records of inadequate performance by the Fire Department.

But one resident, Paula Weber, said she has spent many hours investigating the complaints and believes that the Fire Department’s response was inadequate.

“I have called so many people--hundreds,” Weber said. “I have been on the phone nonstop for a week calling clerks, computer operators, managers, hospitals, the Fire Department, the city manager . . . just trying to find out what happened.”

Fire Battalion Commander Mike McCoy, who directed the department’s response to the March 17 fire, said it is not uncommon for witnesses to be confused about the amount of time elapsed during an emergency. The fire station is about five blocks from the site of the fire.

“It’s really stressful watching a house burn up,” he said. “I’m sure time seems like it’s just dragging by, but that’s just perception. The people who are alleging that it took us an inordinate amount of time to get to the fire are simply misinformed.”

McCoy said he will attend the meeting to discuss the department’s operation, its 911 emergency telephone number and residents’ other concerns about the fire.