Probe refutes FDNY claim on NASCAR deaths
An Advance investigation casts doubt on the stat about race weekends
supplied by Island official
Thursday, September 21, 2006
By SALLY GOLDENBERG and STEPHANIE SLEPIAN
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
An Advance investigation has cast serious doubt on a claim Staten
Island's highest-ranking fire official made two weeks ago at a public
meeting that, on average, six people die while attending a NASCAR race
weekend throughout the country.

The FDNY, which originally was mum on his statement, is now not
standing behind the claim made by Island Fire Chief Thomas Haring.
"Whatever he alluded to or stated is not official FDNY information,"
said fire spokesman Farrell Sklerov. "It hasn't been put on the desk of
the commissioner. It hasn't made it up the chain of command."

Haring said he reached the number by interviewing many fire officials
in towns where motor sports developer International Speedway Corp. owns
tracks. He did the research in anticipation of an 80,000-plus-seat
track ISC is hoping to build on the Island's West Shore -- a
controversial plan on which the FDNY has not taken a public stance.

The fire chief presented his finding at a meeting Sept. 7 of the
borough's three community boards, and ascribed the deaths to a variety
of causes, including fires, spectator car accidents, heart attacks and
other medical conditions. He refused to discuss the study further.

But higher-ups in the fire departments across the country that
allegedly supplied the New York brass with the information tell a
different story: Not only do they dispute the finding, but most say the
FDNY never contacted them.

"I don't have any idea where they're getting their statistic," said Ron
Avanzolini, special events coordinator for the San Bernardino County
Fire Department, which provides firefighters to the California Speedway
in Fontana. "Very seldom do we ever have a death at the track. We had
one heart attack and that was all [this year] and that was an elderly
man with massive heart problems."

Avanzolini also said no one from his department ever spoke to New York
fire officials.

"I'm the one that they would've talked to, and I've never gotten a
phone call from New York," he said.


FDNY REFUSAL

The FDNY refused to release a document containing Haring's information,
despite a Freedom of Information Law request made by the Advance in
July, when the newspaper learned of the study.

According to the law, if an agency is unable to answer a request within
20 days after acknowledging it, it must give a written explanation of
the delay. The FDNY acknowledged receipt of the request, but only
yesterday verbally explained its reason for not granting the inquiry.

"To send out a report to you without the FDNY stamp would be
inappropriate," Sklerov said.

In the absence of the data, the Advance queried 11 of the 12
departments that supplement ISC's own safety services in and around
their tracks during race weekends. Each disputed the statistic, and
nine claim to have had no contact with the FDNY. (Fire officials in
Watkins Glen, N.Y., did not return numerous calls.)

"I'm the assistant chief of the county fire district and I never talked
to anyone from FDNY," said Kenny Stratton of the Darlington County Fire
Department, which provides firefighters to the Darlington Speedway in
South Carolina. "If we got a call from the FDNY, that would be
something to talk about. We'd take that kind of serious."

Stratton refuted the statistic, and said he could not recall any
fatalities at the Darlington track.

Johnny Deas, whom ISC hired to supervise fire safety at the South
Carolina track, also scoffed at the finding and said he was never
contacted by anyone from the FDNY.


NASCAR REACTS

Island track manager Michael Printup expressed vindication by the
response from other fire departments.

"I'm not surprised that they denounced it, though we don't have our own
numbers," Printup said. "It's kind of surprising that the FDNY would
release something and not have the facts behind it. Maybe there was
just a mistake when Mr. Haring released it, and I guess you'll have to
ask him to explain that mistake."

The fire chief in Columbia, Mich., recalled being interviewed via phone
and e-mail several times last year by the New York department about
safety protocol outside Michigan International Speedway. Still, he
said, the track averages one to three deaths per race -- a number that
includes fires, medical conditions and car accidents within a 25-mile
radius of the speedway.

"They seemed concerned for the safety of the citizens as well as the
race attendees," said Columbia Fire Chief Shawn Lutz. "With that many
people coming into town at one time, it can definitely put a strain on
your normal day-to-day operations. That's kind of what they were trying
to get a grasp of."

The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue & Office of Emergency Management & Homeland
Security, which also was interviewed by the FDNY about the services it
provides to the Homestead-Miami Speedway, was shocked by the finding.

"We've never had six in one weekend. Ever," said Lt. Shanti Hall, a
spokeswoman for the department. She said the department does not
collect figures on the fatality rate among NASCAR spectators.


RISK ACKNOWLEDGED

While each of the fire officials interviewed disputed the finding,
several of them acknowledged the risk involved during a race weekend,
which typically lasts for four days and could draw upwards of 100,000
people.

Rick McClure, assistant chief of operations for the Henrico Fire
Department, which provides services to the Richmond International
Speedway in Virginia, said he received a call from an FDNY deputy chief
two or three months ago, but the two never spoke.

McClure said the 500-member department typically responds to 60 to 70
incidents during a race weekend, but deaths are rare.

"We have a very unfortunate day when we have anybody die," he said. "We
just finished a race and there were no deaths. On a really bad day, we
have maybe one. This time last year, we had someone die of a heart
attack, but that's about it."


Sally Goldenberg and Stephanie Slepian are news reporters for the
Advance. They may be reached at goldenberg (AT) siadvance (DOT) com and
slepian (AT) siadvance (DOT) com.