City Government
Mayor Hotline August 23-29
September 7, 2008 
Our apologies for the late entry, but the GUARDIAN is back in town and will try to get more information posted. This week’s transcript aug-23-29-2008 offers a “Fire Storm” of comments–both pro and con–over the Columbia village incident and the City’s response.
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Comments & Discussion
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© 2008 Boise Guardian. 
Sep 7, 2008, 8:43 pm
With regard to the comments about the fire. Does someone possibly know just when our society started this obsession with every problem having to be someone’s fault? We have reached the point where someone HAS to be the blame for all our ills. If we knew when that mindset started, maybe we could fix it.
EDITOR NOTE– It started with Lt. William Calley and the My Ly massacre in Vietnam. The Vietnam war suddenly became his fault. While he was obviously a “bad guy,” like most events, there were a lot more reasons and people at fault than just the one guy. I call it “The Calley syndrome” when we seek a single person or entity to blame. Once we have someone or something to blame, it makes it all better.
Sep 8, 2008, 7:24 am
As a BPD Officer, I usually remain quiet when absurd comments/remarks are made about how we handled a situation. But two of the comments made, both complaining that BPD, and in the in one case, even BFD, did not do enough, are so grossly inaccurate that I had to reply.
One caller said, “they had to get there…” making it sound as if BPD and BFD were just lollygagging around town. The caller also said residents were given no warning at all. So, to that caller, are you aware that two BPD officers were there within the first few minutes? Are you aware that those two frantically ran door to door on Sweetwater and Immigrant Pass warning residents to leave even while the homes were becoming fully engulfed? Are you aware that police officers are not supplied with any type of protective fire gear of breathing masks? Are you aware that both their uniforms ignited and, after extinguishing themselves, they continued the evacuation efforts? Did you know that of those two, one was blown out of the front door of a home as he fled from it as it flashed over fully engulfed? Oh, and the other officer had to dive for cover to avoid the wall of fire that was being blown horizontaly across the street. But both of them got to their feet and continued on. Those two officers were the “warning” you say never happened. How would you suggest a warning have been given? How do you properly warn people about a firestorm being propelled across dry sage by gusts of 40-50 mph right in their back yards?
The anonymous caller said that BPD, and this would also include assisting officers from surrounding jurisdictions, did not do enough to deal with the frantic and scared folks who were evacuated. Do you realize how dynamic and chaotic this situation was? What do you think we were doing while people were moved several blocks away from their homes? Do you think officers were just standing around watching the fire burn? Did you know that while you were kept outside of the scene, officers were still in the middle of it making sure homes ahead of the fire were evacuated?
Officers had to block roads to keep folks from going back into the scene. There is no perfect way to handle a situation of this nature. If officers had not blocked the roads and someone had become injured or worse due to that, you would be saying we should have blocked the roads.
Did you know that a total of 18 officers were treated for smoke inhalation? Are you aware that several officer’s families were among those evacuted but they could not be with their families for obvious reasons? Did you know that officers were without support from any fire agency for quite some time due to BFD and all the assisting agencies having to focus their efforts on defending the homes that were savable along Sweetwater and Immigrant Pass? This meant that, at times, officers tried to keep threatened homes safe with garden hoses and by removing grills and propane tanks all while the fire was right in front of them.
There has never been a situation like this here before and hopefully never again. For those two callers to marginalize the efforts made by all involved emergency responders is shameful. This was a horrible accident. There will be a lot of finger pointing, blaming and second guessing which is what usually happens in tragic situations. But there should be no doubt that the emergency responders gave it everything they had in this event.
Sep 8, 2008, 10:21 am
In my guise as the “Bull Moose Tenor” and “Boise Whiskey Tango” I have never once shied away from lambasting the Boise Police Department.
At one time even calling for its dissolution and replacement with the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.
But in this case I have to side with BPD Officer Kip Paporello.
Officers of the BPD put themselves in harms way – in a big way – in an effort to save the lives of people.
Many of whom, it pains me to say – had they taken even rudimentary firewise precautions – probably wouldn’t have needed saving in the first place.
Sep 8, 2008, 10:29 am
Kip, while you and I may disagree, vehemently at times, about the politics of your union, it is impossible to have anything but admiration for the men and women of the BPD, BFD, and ACEMS!
When a cop’s uniform is on fire and his response is to run under a sprinkler and then continue to evacuate citizens, there can be nothing but admiration for the force, because I know that if any other officer was in the same situation, they would take the same actions.
When the fire chief asks his firefighters if they are OK on the “pointy end of the sword” and their response is ” we are making our stand right here and it won’t go any further”, That is the mark of heroes.
In the future, when anyone starts with the negatives about the BPD, BFD, and there will be, the correct response will be “Oregon Trail 2008!”
Somehow, thank you doesn’t quite cover it!!!