Pennsylvania Lawyer: Emergency Services Not a Constitutional Right
April 22—A lawyer representing Luzerne County argued before a federal judge Tuesday afternoon that the lawsuit filed over a dispatching error in a fatal Mocanaqua fire should be dismissed because residents do not have a constitutional right to emergency services.
Arguing the lawsuit broadly targets nine defendants, ranging from the county itself to call taker Debra Pac and supervisor James Ostrowski, defense attorney David Heisler maintained that residents are not entitled to emergency services.
"The danger of this case was the fire," Heisler said. "The state didn't create that."
Attorney Bill Anzalone, representing the estate of 52-year-old Michelle Dzoch, argued that Pac, who has since been fired, overlooked seven red flags—ranging from follow-up emergency calls to firefighters questioning their destination—that should have alerted her the fire was at 76 Main St. in the Mocanaqua section of Conyngham Township, rather than at an address that didn't exist in Conyngham Borough.
"She had seven opportunities to make a correction, and she chose not to until eight minutes post (call)," Anzalone said, alleging a "state-created danger" because of the 911 call center failure. "The dispatcher insisted on letting these firefighters go to the wrong address."
Dzoch, who died in the May 15 fire, was disabled and unable to escape the house, he argued. She relied on 911 with her life and the failure of the call center to follow its own rules and procedures amounted to a "willful disregard" for her safety, he said.
U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo took the arguments under advisement and will rule on the matter at a later date.
According to court documents, Dzoch's daughter called 911 at her mother's request and in her presence to report the fire that had started in her boys' bedroom. At the time, the daughter was trying to put it out.
Both sides agree Pac gave an order for everyone to evacuate the house. But, for reasons unknown, Dzoch was unable to escape.
For eight minutes, firefighters raced to a nonexistent address 15 miles away before the error was corrected.
Dzoch's family contends the error cost Dzoch her life.
Investigators determined the fatal fire began with Dzoch's two grandchildren—ages 3 and 5 at the time—playing with a lighter in a bedroom. Firefighters found Dzoch's body in a second-floor room after the fire was extinguished.
The coroner's office ruled her death accidental.
Copyright 2015 - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
