PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - When Coral Springs Fire Rescue attempted to respond to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the Feb. 14 mass shooting, fire rescue said the Broward Sheriff’s Office did not allow them to enter.
According to the Miami Herald, Coral Springs Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Michael McNally filed an incident report following the shooting which showed he asked six times for permission to send in police and paramedics. Jan Jordan, BSO’s captain in charge of the scene, reportedly denied their request.
“The [BSO] incident commander advised me, ‘She would have to check,'” the Herald said McNally wrote in the report. “After several minutes, I requested once again the need to deploy RTF elements into the scene to … initiate treatment as soon as possible. Once again, the incident commander expressed that she ‘would have to check before approving this request.'”
The Coral Springs Rescue Task Force would have sent in three paramedics and at least three officers, the Miami Herald reports.
Once the Parkland shooter was arrested, BSO continued denying Coral Springs Fire Rescue’s request. Instead, SWAT medics reportedly went inside the building.
“I’m not saying the [RTFs] would have made a difference, and I’m not saying they wouldn’t have made a difference, but it would have been more medics and more hands helping out,” said Coral Springs Fire Chief Frank Babinec in an interview.
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