DeKalb County Fire Captain Sell Caldwell has been ordered reinstated to the department by a hearing officer. Caldwell was one of five firefighters terminated after the fire death of 74-year-old Ann Bartlett on January 24, 2010.
Crews were called to Ms. Bartlett’s house at about 1:00 am, when she claimed to have accidentally started a fire with her oxygen mask. The crews allegedly found nothing and returned to quarters without dismounting from their apparatus. Crews were called back to the scene at 6:40 am by neighbors to find the house well involved.
The decision was issued last Friday, July 9, 2010. Two other firefighters had previously been reinstated after hearings. The county plans to appeal the hearing officer’s decision.
