AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Questions about the reliability of the Augusta Fire Department’s emergency response have caught the attention of Augusta Commission member Catherine Smith McKnight.

News 12′s I-TEAM uncovered 139 cases over the past two years when dispatch calls to Augusta’s fire stations failed to go through. That led to delays in response times.

Among those delays and dispatch errors was a deadly house fire – just across the street from a fire station. Two people were found just steps from the home’s front door.

The I-TEAM took our findings to McKnight, who currently chairs Augusta Richmond County’s public safety committee.

McKnight said she was unaware of any problems and the issue was never brought up in the committee or in commission.

However, McKnight says she now wants answers and says this safety concern is a priority. She says she will bring it up at the next Augusta Commission public safety committee and commission meetings.

McKnight told News 12 she is shocked that our I-TEAM investigation is the first time this safety issue has been brought to her attention and questions why dispatch errors haven’t been brought up earlier.

McKnight went on to say no family should have to go through having to worry about this or suffer the loss of a family member.

News 12 has repeatedly requested an interview with Augusta Fire Chief Antonio Burden, who has denied or not responded to our invitation to sit down and answer questions about what his department has done to alert commissioners or to find the root of the dispatch errors.

McKnight’s official statement:

As the Public Safety Committee Chairman, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family of Teresa Ingram and Rex Williams who both lost their lives in a house fire. Just finding out about this tragedy that took place last year on October 14, 2023, has me asking questions as to why a fire station that sits 200 yards across the street from this house where the fire broke out and yet not one crew member saw it happen is baffling. As a sitting Commissioner, I want answers from our Dispatch Department Director and Fire Chief about the malfunction of the Purvis system and dispatching problems so that moving forward we can prevent something like this from happening again. Public Safety is top priority as a Commissioner of this county and the lives of our citizens. It is imperative that we have the best equipment and that it constantly be monitored and maintained to ensure safety for all.

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