Since May, there have been several well-publicized cases in which operators directed firefighters to the wrong address.
As the crew helped her down, Ms. Badger directed firefighters to the third floor, where she said her children were sleeping, according to the Stamford fire chief, Antonio J. Conte.
By spotting fires early and directing firefighters to the precise location where they are burning, he said, she certainly earned her keep.
The 60 chiefs hold the titles of division or battalion commanders and perform, at the commissioner's request, certain administrative tasks in addition to their core job of directing firefighters in the field.
Then Mr. Nugent, a trained emergency medical technician, made a third trip into the building, found an injured student in the hall, and administered assistance, then stood in the hallway directing firefighters to rooms whose occupants had called 911 on their cell phones.
In addition to its critique of the Fire Department, the report criticized the building's management company for failing to direct firefighters to a written fire plan in its lobby, for neglecting to unlock its stairwell doors and for ordering a complete evacuation of the building.
Deputy Chief Bob Doyle has been batting fires and directing firefighters while working as division group supervisor in Oklahoma for a week, Glendale fire officials said.
Fire Department officials directed several firefighters last week to meet with city lawyers before they were questioned by the prosecutors investigating the deadly fire at the former Deutsche Bank building, according to several people involved in the matter.
It directed the firefighters down Corridor 5, then left into the C Ring.
The law was enacted after investigations into the deaths of four Forest Service firefighters in Washington in 2001 determined that the agency had ignored most of its own safety standards in directing firefighters at the blaze.
