TRI-RAIL NIGHTMARE: Did Boca Fire Bungle Response To Death By Train?

UPDATE: City Of Boca Raton Dispatcher Confused Address.

BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher

BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2023 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A confused Boca Raton emergency dispatcher and an apparently slow funnel of information from a neighboring agency led to a challenged response Friday night to a Tri-Rail incident that left one person dead.

BocaNewsNow.com obtained emergency dispatch communication transmitted by Broward County that revealed a frantic search by Broward County rescuers for a Tri-Rail train that had hit someone between the Pompano Beach station and the nearby Palm Beach County-Broward County line.

Broward rescuers searched the area, only to realize that the incident occurred in the area of SW 18th Street and the train tracks east of Military Trail. That’s in the City of Boca Raton. Broward County rescuers tried to reach Boca Raton rescuers on a shared two-way radio channel, but Boca Raton apparently didn’t respond, leading a dispatcher to call the City of Boca Raton to report the train incident. That’s when the problems started.

According to a timeline of events provided by the Boca Raton Police Department, which manages dispatch for Boca Raton Fire Rescue, it took 13 minutes for rescuers to arrive on the scene of the train incident. That’s an eternity in the fire-rescue world. Units in South Florida often arrive within moments of a call.

Boca Raton PD says the first call was received by the Broward Sheriff’s Office at 10:54 p.m. Unable to find the incident, a Broward County dispatcher called Boca Raton at 11:01. The Boca Raton Dispatcher, however, incorrectly believed the incident to be in the jurisdiction of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and told the Broward County dispatcher to call Palm Beach County instead. It’s not clear why the Boca Raton dispatcher didn’t immediately relay the information to Palm Beach County. The two agencies routinely communicate.

That Broward Dispatcher hung up, only to call back, sure that the incident was in the City of Boca Raton. The City of Boca Raton dispatcher, taking the call again at 11:02 p.m. acknowledged that the address IS in the City of Boca Raton and started dispatching units.

The first City of Boca Raton units arrived on the scene at 11:07. A body was found around 11:10 p.m. The person, who apparently committed suicide by train, was beyond saving.

The response, however, raises questions about communication between two neighboring agencies — Boca Raton Fire Rescue and the Broward Sheriff’s Office. BSO attempted to establish a “Tactical” or “shared” radio channel that both agencies could use as they searched for the body. Radio communication provided to BocaNewsNow.com indicates that Boca Raton refused to establish a channel — slowing communication.

It also appeared to passengers stuck on the train that there was a coordination problem at the scene.

“I was on the train when it happened on my way back to Delray Beach,” said a passenger to BocaNewsNow.com. “It took 4 hours to get the train moving again. A Tri-Rail onboard officer said accidents on the track happen but normally only take 30-45 minutes to clear and resume transit. This was an absolute nightmare for everyone on board being stuck for four hours with no information. I Could hear the conductor freaking out from the cockpit “how could the situation get any goddamn worse? what is happening out there!?”

A source familiar with the incident, and dispatch procedures, suggests something went wrong with the City of Boca Raton’s management of the scene, but also faults Tri-Rail staffers.

“The incident location on the CSX/Tri-Rail tracks between SW 18th Street and Camino Real lies within the city limits of Boca Raton. The railroad dispatcher knew this because the train engineer told her it was at milepost SX996.8 so I don’t know why she contacted Broward County. The counties exchange calls pretty much daily that get directed to the wrong 911 call center, so that shouldn’t have been an impediment for Broward to notify Boca over the usual means.”

Neither the City of Boca Raton Police Department nor Boca Raton Fire Rescue issued an advisory or alert to citizens that a train incident had ocurred. The City routinely issues alerts via text and email. Multiple emails to City of Boca Raton Fire Chief John Treanor went unanswered on Saturday, until he responded with this short, terse acknowledgement:

“Boca Raton Fire Rescue responded to a fatality accident late last night involving a train.”

The investigation is now being led by the City of Boca Raton police department.