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A memorial to firefighters Michel Baik and Lt. Steven Velasquez, at the fire station on Ocean Terrace in Bridgeport, Conn., on Wednesday July 24, 2019. The firefighters died while fighting a fire on Elmwood Ave, in Bridgeport, on July 24, 2010.

A file photo from Saturday, July 24, 2010 of 41 Elmwood Ave. after a fire in the structure claimed the lives of Lt. Steven Velasquez and Firefighter Michel Baik and injured three others.

A file photo from Saturday, July 24, 2010 of 41 Elmwood Ave. after a fire in the structure claimed the lives of Lt. Steven Velasquez and Firefighter Michel Baik and injured three others.

Bridgeport firefighter Lt. Steven Velasquez. Velasquez died while fighting a fire at 41 Elmwood Ave in Bridgeport on Saturday, July 24, 2010.

Bridgeport firefighter Michel Baik. Baik died while fighting a fire at 41 Elmwood Ave on Saturday, July 24, 2010.

The scene along Elmwood Avenue after a fatal fire in Bridgeport, Conn. on Saturday July 24, 2010. Lt. Steven Velasquez and Firefighter Michel Baik have been confirmed as having died sustained while fighting the fire and several others were injured. Here, a firefighter get hydrated after fighting the fire.

BRIDGEPORT — After two firefighters died while battling a July 2010 fire, the city implemented a series of procedural and structural changes designed to prevent another tragic incident.

The new policies are outlined in documents obtained from the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which cited the city’s fire department for serious failures following the deaths of Lt. Steven Velasquez and firefighter Michel Baik.

The Elmwood Avenue house fire occurred on July 24, 2010 — 12 years ago as of this weekend.

The violations cited by CONN-OSHA included a failure to follow “mayday” procedures when firefighters called for help, not performing tests on firefighters’ breathing tanks, failing to conduct medical examinations to ensure firefighters were fit for duty and failing to ensure that all firefighters wore breathing equipment when inside the burning building.

In written responses dated March 8, 2011, the city detailed new procedures to satisfy the state’s concerns, including altering how “mayday” calls would be handled in the future. A mayday call is an urgent plea for help and one of five safety violations cited by state regulators.

Other changes reported by the city include requiring visual inspections and testing of the oxygen tanks used by firefighters, better medical evaluations of firefighters and improved testing over how well the seal on a respirator fits the user’s face, according to the documents.

“That day has had a profound effect on how the Bridgeport Fire Department operates at structure fires,” said Acting Fire Chief Lance Edwards this week.

Both Baik and Velasquez were working inside the burning house when they were fatally injured. The state medical examiner’s office determined that Baik died from smoke inhalation complicated by a heart condition and that Velasquez died from smoke inhalation and asphyxia.

“The department has evolved immensely under the leadership of former Fire Chief Richard Thode and is advancing under the direction and current leadership of Chief Edwards,” said Scott Appleby, director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management.

“Our department has seen a tremendous change in agency collaboration, unified decision making and after-action reviews that lead sometimes to immediate changes in policy and procedures,” Appleby said.

A report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health released in 2011 provided a chilling assessment of what happened during the Elmwood Avenue fire.

According to the report, the 40-year-old Velasquez and the 49-year-old Baik, along with two other firefighters, had been assigned to search for victims and hot spots on the third floor of the multifamily house after the fire had been extinguished on the second floor.

While Velasquez and Baik were pulling the walls and ceiling on the third floor, the fire suddenly reignited.

Velasquez transmitted a mayday that was not acknowledged or acted on, the report states. Minutes later, the incident commander ordered an evacuation of the third floor, which was when a firefighter exiting the third floor discovered Velasquez sitting on the stairs unconscious and not breathing. Baik was found about seven minutes later on the third floor in heavy smoke conditions.

Radio dispatches show that at 4:13 p.m. Velasquez is heard calling, “Mayday, mayday, mayday, we’re trapped on the rear stairs,” according to the report. It took almost four minutes before a call went out about a firefighter down on the rear stairs of the second floor.

The report states there were attempts to reach Velasquez but that the rapid intervention team couldn’t immediately get past a hose holding the door to the second floor closed. They reached him at 4:19 p.m., the report notes.

At 4:24 p.m., a call went out that Baik was trapped on the third floor. A discussion is then heard on the radio between the commanding officers and Baik was found at 4:28 p.m.

NIOSH concluded the fire department failed to have a rapid intervention team available to come to the firefighters’ aid, failed to immediately treat one of the firefighters who managed to make it to relative safety before collapsing and did not properly manage firefighters’ air supplies — both firefighters’ air cylinders were empty when they were found.

The department’s incident safety officer, who is required to be on scene for assistance during a fire, arrived more than 20 minutes after the initial dispatch, the NIOSH report noted.

In the March 2011 response to CONN-OSHA’s citations, the city’s fire department outlined a series of changes.

Those included new “mayday” procedures and a requirement that the incident commander “acknowledge” a mayday call, new classes on how the process works and drills and training involving firefighters and dispatchers, according to a letter written by Capt. Gary Baker.

In another letter, Baker tells CONN-OSHA that new procedures were in place to inspect the cylinders firefighters wear so they can breathe in a smoke-filled environment, along with testing of those cylinders and new documentation requirements.

The city’s Health Department created new rules requiring firemen to fill out a respirator medical evaluation questionnaire. The department also required those whose responses indicated possible medical issues receive a medical exam and clearance to wear a respirator.

The department also revised the way it tests whether respirators properly fit a firefighter and purchased a new fit testing machine, Baker told CONN-OSHA.

David Dunn, president of the city’s fire union, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about changes to the department’s procedures.

Edwards said a variety of improvements were made in the years since the 2010 deadly fire.

“We’ve since instituted a new position of Incident Safety Officer,” Edwards said. “Their sole role is the safety and well-being of each member operating at an emergency scene. Other than the on-scene Incident Commander, the Incident Safety Officer is the only other member that has the authority to halt emergency operations due to unsafe operations.”

Edwards said the city developed a new “mayday” procedure and better air management techniques.

“We train each of our members that their self-contained breathing apparatus is their best friend,” Edwards said. “That’s the only device that allows them to breath in a hazardous atmosphere. We’ve also replaced our self-contained breathing apparatus utilizing newer technology and one that incorporates a larger cylinder. We also have a preventative maintenance program that addresses annual testing and maintenance.”

The chief said a rapid intervention team was formed to locate and remove a downed firefighter if needed.

The city also instituted nationally recognized physical agility tests designed to make sure that each member is prepared to perform essential job tasks at fire scenes, Edwards said.

“All of the changes implemented not only has made the department stronger physically but also mentally and Chief Edwards is leading us to a more resilient community through the eyes of the fire service,” Appleby said.

Includes prior reporting by staff writer Daniel Tepfer.

Bill Cummings is a veteran newspaper reporter who first joined the Connecticut Post in 1989 as a town reporter. He has served as a bureau chief, manned the Capitol Bureau, covered Bridgeport City Hall and was later named group Investigative Reporter. Bill also covers environmental issues for Hearst. He previously worked for the Watertown Daily Times in New York State and the Star Herald, a weekly in northern Maine.