Sedgwick County Commissioners have voted to accept recommendations of an advisory board and hire an independent agency to review the 911 response to a fatal apartment fire that happened in Wichita in October.
The Emergency Communications Advisory Board had a special meeting Tuesday and voted to approve recommendations for a third-party review. Assistant Wichita City Manager Donte Martin, Assistant Sedgwick County Manager Rusty Leeds will work with a review team to select the consulting firm or audit firm that will conduct the investigation. The Wichita City Council and the Sedgwick County Commission would then have to approve the selection, and the city and county will split the cost of the investigation.
The union representing Wichita firefighters has called for a review of the 911 response to an October 13th fire at the Brookhollow Apartments near Central and Rock Road. The fire resulted in the death of 22-year-old Paoly Bedeski, and the union said responding crews were never told that someone was trapped inside the apartment building.
County purchasing director Joe Thomas says the process of finding an investigative agency will take some time. He said there will be talks to define the search process and evaluate the proposals that come in. He expects the search to take several months.
Leeds said the advisory board wants to create subcommittees that will be having ongoing discussions about 911 and emergency response. Commissioner Ryan Baty said there will be conversations about what can be done to provide resources and support to the emergency responders.
