Barefoot resident helps uncover edited tapes that highlight wildfire evacuation
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Barefoot resident helps uncover edited tapes that...
New information obtained by a Barefoot resident, former private investigator Mike Ragusa, and News 13, shows how the evacuation of Barefoot residents was handled during the morning of the North Myrtle...New information obtained by a Barefoot resident, former private investigator Mike Ragusa, and News 13, shows how the evacuation of Barefoot residents was handled during the morning of the North Myrtle Beach wildfires on April 23.
Using the Freedom of Information Act, Ragusa and News 13 obtained North Myrtle Beach Public Safety dash cam videos and dispatch calls from that night.
The video shows the fire was first spotted after it flared up off of Highway 90 by North Myrtle Beach Police Lt. Guy Johnson at 12:56 a.m.
BY THE NUMBERS
Click here to listen to the calls recorded by 911 dispatch on April 23, as presented to the public.
Click here to go to listen to the raw audio of the calls.
Residents still being evacuated from Barefoot. Director Bailey says evacuation ended around 4 a.m..
Johnson said he learned through the South Carolina Forestry Commission that the fire was going to jump at 1:23 a.m. Johnson said he did not know when and where it would jump. But, because he was concerned, he called North Myrtle Beach Director of Public Safety William Bailey. Bailey said he was asleep when the call was made and cell phone service in his home in Little River was spotty, which he said is why he missed the call.
In the voicemail message, Johnson said, “Uh, William. Just giving you a shout. I know it’s late. But this thing is getting close to 22. I would probably say it’s probably less than a mile, a quarter of a mile from 22 and they’re saying it’s gonna to jump. I just gonna kinda keep you updated. I think they’re getting ready to close down 22 through here cause it’s getting that close. Um, and I’m getting concerned about Barefoot but, uh, we’ll keep an eye on it. I’ll try and keep you posted.”
Twenty-six minutes after Johnson left that voicemail message on Bailey’s phone, the fire exploded at 1:48 a.m. and crossed Highway 22 into Barefoot.
Johnson immediately called dispatchers, telling them to use the city’s reverse 911 system to call and order Barefoot residents to evacuate their homes. He also told the dispatcher to notify Bailey.
Bailey said dispatchers got in touch with him as he was on the move at 1:52 a.m.
But, an original version of dispatch calls shows Bailey may have talked to dispatchers later than that.
On the original dispatch tape, a conversation between Dispatcher Cory and Maj. Walt Floyd was cross referenced to other police communications made at 2:02 p.m. In that conversation, the dispatcher tells Floyd, “We can’t get a hold of Bailey.” That conversation is followed by the call from Dispatcher Cory to Bailey. The time of the call is unknown, but it comes after the call at 2:02 a.m. shown on the original tape.
At a public task force meeting held on May 22 in which residents could listen to dispatch calls and ask officials involved in the wildfire response questions, Bailey’s call to dispatchers was played before the call between dispatchers and Floyd. The phrase “We can’t get a hold of Bailey” was taken out of the call.
Bailey said he doesn’t know who edited the tapes and why they would edit the tapes. As of 4:30 p.m. on Monday, North Myrtle Beach Public Information Officer Nicole Aiello said the investigation into who edited the tapes is ongoing.
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Reader Reactions
The loss of everything people had, NEEDLESSLY, is the saddest. Holding people accountable for their responsibilities is not blaming. It’s what the people who are lucky to be alive, and this community, can do to prevent such gross negligence from happening again.
Isn’t holding leadership accountable an adult thing to do? How do you ever improve or innovate if you don’t?
I just have 1 thing to ask. Will blaming others slove anything? I do not know what the sadest the homes lost in the fires or everyone blaming others. Come on grow up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Three men in the back of the neighborhood, in the middle of the inferno, stayed and saved their homes as well as their neighbors’ homes with a GARDEN HOSE. No blame can be put on a fire fighter or policeman following orders. The leadership is responsible for mishandling a threat turned into tragedy that could have been prevented.
Our mayor could have prevented fire fighters and peoples’ lives from being threatened by ordering helicoptors to help deal with the wildfire the day before. A wildfire that threatened (depending on the wind) three huge neighborhoods of Carolina Forest, Grand Dunes and Barefoot Resort along with other homes in those areas for 2 days! A national news reporter brought this up to her the morning of the briefing. I’m not allowed the luxury of 20/20 hindsight when it comes to my childrens lives and neither should our leaders when it comes to all of ours’. Mistakes are acceptable, lack of responsibility to your position is not. Poor leadership is this communitees biggest threat!!!!
Three trucks WERE sitting in the neighborhood, next to the homes on fire, with not one hose hooked up. This is on video. Homes later burned right next to the homes on fire in this video. No spraying was taking place. The negligence by the directors allowed everyones lives to be threatened including our rescue personel. The worst part is that there WAS time to act and do much more if the people in charge had been on top of this situation. (Being awake or easily able to reach for start.) The safety director was unable to be reached by the officer on the bridge AND dispatch! That is UNACCEPTABLE when he is the main leader and organizer of public safety.
It helps everyone in this community to expect better leadership.
TO: ( momma4)
They were ordered to stand-down and back out of the area because all the homes at that time were vacant and the fire wall was over 100 foot tall! Would you rather they had 5 firetrucks on the street and up to 30 firefighters when that wall came down on them! They HAD to wait until they could safely go in there! SO YOU WOULD RATHER HAVE THEM LOOSE 5 trucks and 30 firefighters lives to save your home—that had no chance of that possibly happening?? I am sorry for ANY homes that were lost that horrifying night! But put blame where it belongs!
STARTING:
HCFR lost control the first day the fire started. Forestry comes in and assumes command, then a turf war takes place because HCFR doesn’t want to give up command. Forestry HAS Command when they arrive on the scene, HCFR MUST STAND DOWN COMMAND and start protecting structures(Which they didnt do because they were still pissed about losing command) Forestry couldn’t do what they are supposed to because they are still fighting with HCFR! Meantime the fire rages out of control. This turf war goes on through day one and into day two! On the night of the Barefoot fire NEVER did forestry call THE ON DUTY Battalion Chief in NMB to inform him that the fire may turn. They called a patrol officer who obviously forget the chain of command process! The on duty Battalion Chief was not called until it had already jumped 22, from there to the time it reached the first house it was only 5 minutes! Forestry, the patrol officer and Director Baily are the ones you need to be directing your anger towards!
I am glad that B/C on duty that night made the decision NOT to let his men go into that inferno and risk there lives, that would have truly been taken! My husband was one of those firefighters! He is alive today because of the correct decision made that night.
To commend everyone for a job well done concerning the fire-fighting and evacuation is just irresponsible. The evidence shows key upper officials were not doing their jobs at all while MANY lives were in danger of death! Then, covering up their negligence is sickening when the thoughts that when through my mind that night were “My children could burn to death!“ I want to throw up everytime I think back, and watch the videos of fire fighters standing around watching houses burn because they were ordered to “stand down.“ The lack of leadership was appalling! A diabetic man was left in his house to die. The family who tried to go back and save him was threatened to be arrested. The policeman drove down the sidewalk to get back to the house and was stopped by a fire fighter who said “No one can go back there.“ This was all on video. If my father was the man in the house, I would have lost my mind watching the videos of inaction and non-leadership. The survivors are so traumatized on how to move on, they do not want to see that this tragidy could have been prevented!!!! The fact that Bailey was asleep is UNACCEPTABLE. The evidence of covering his negligence with edited tapes and lies to the public is an offensive word I won’t say. An honest man accused of lying would send the original phone records immediately, not a typed up version on City of NMB letter head paper. If people want to turn a blind eye to the seriousness of the tragic, preventable, deceitful event than maybe they should visit the people who lost everything and helped to save a neighbor’s LIFE. The people of Barefoot Resort are the heros of this event. Apreciation to the fire-fighters and policeman and dispatch who were doing their job as instructed (or lack there of) is great also. The leadership, though, especially the Public Safety Director and his character, is a dark pit of disgust.
If you have never worked for a police dept, be assured that nothing is ever done without the ok of the top people. Especially in NMB it is run like a dictatorship and Bailey has his hand in everything. But the real question is why was it edited in the middle if not to cover up Bailey’s lack of response? Why is that same dispatcher now quitting the dept.? Bailey sounded still asleep on the tape yet he stated that he had made all the calls he could but questioned calling the Fire Chief Barstow, shouldn’t that have been his first phone call? If Johnson watched the fire then why wasn’t a fire truck in the area saturating the area with water instead of in house?
The tapes played out of sequence sounds like someone was trying to make it seem like Bailey was on top of things when in fact he was not. No one is saying that he can’t be human but why try to make it appear that he did things that he didn’t do? If Bailey edits this small portion what else could or would he have edited to keep himself from being questioned? Has it happened before and can citizens of NMB trust that Bailey is honest and above reproach? Did Bailey hear the unedited version and the edited version and if so why didn’t he come forward if he indeed had nothing to do with them?
This lesson goes way back to Watergate days and has been reinforced many times since. It’s not the original behavior that does public officials in, it’s the cover up. People make mistakes, especially in situations that have never occured before or that lack predictability. Usually the public is understanding of that, but what the public does not like is being lied to. My very wise father used to tell me, “With lies you can forward but you can never go back.“
The the video and audio evidence shows that this is a leadership issue with NMB. This is not an issue with the brave police officers and firefighters or anyone who was instructed to edit the tape.
Posted by ( olemiss )
1.Dash-cam shows that officials(?) new of approaching fire at 12:58am.
That official was only a patrol officer; who then yes should have contacted his CO.
2.The tape warns NMB officials(?).
Again that official they informed was the patrol officers—NOT DISPATCH!
3.I am not sure exactly what officials you claim STARTED monitoring this at 1:22am—
But I can promise you it was NOT the FIRE B/C that was on duty that night! THEY DIDN’T Call him until almost 2am AFTER IT JUMPED 22! At 1:30ish am is when the patrol officer tried to contact Director Bailey. Upon not getting in touch with Bailey-the officer should have contacted HIS OWN DISPATCH and delivered the message there to alert Bailey and THE FIRE DEPARTMENT! (THIS IS THE TRUTH)
4.When the fire department arrived on scene-AFTER FINALLY Being alerted- the fire had already jumped 22 & was barreling down on Barefoot. Houses were already burning. They did the best they could in the short perio
About the tape being tampered with and areas omitted; they already know who did edit the tapes. The real question here is WHO ORDERED it to be edited? There are MAYBE 2-3 people that can give that order! One is the one who was trying to be protected! Do not make the one who edited it the sacrificial lamb in this—go after who ordered the editing!
Bailey-you stood in front of these residents last month and verbally said you were en-route to this fire at at 2:02am, yet didn’t arrive on scene until 2:45am!! I never realized it takes 43 minutes to drive from Little River to NMB? Yet you expect your personnel to respond in 30 minutes from further away in the county!
Posted by ( momma4): Post trucks on water tower road? HCFR & Forestry did have trucks up there! They sent them HOME earlier in the night! FORESTRY should have had a WALL of firetrucks on 22 hosing down the area where the approaching fire was headed. They should have also had a fire break between the fire and 22! This fire should have never reached 22 in the first place!
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