Turns out bullet did hit firefighter

A bullet did, in fact, strike the helmet of a firefighter who responded to a blaze in Avondale on July 18, Cincinnati police confirmed Tuesday.

That conclusion has city firefighters seeking an apology from City Hall, where a spokesman had questioned whether firefighters' initial report on the incident was accurate.

Firefighter Kevin Kirkendall’s helmet was struck while he battled the blaze at 506 Carplin Ave. Kirkendall was uninjured.

The fire department said the projectile was a bullet. Soon afterwards, comments by city spokesman Rocky Merz played down that possibility, suggesting Kirkendall had been struck by debris from the burning building. "It appears something was coming out of the fire," Merz said then. "There is no evidence there was a gunfight or there was a shooting."

His comments raised the ire of the firefighters' union.

Now, following Tuesday’s confirmation it was a bullet that hit Kirkendall's helmet, that ire has not been quelled.

Matt Alter, president of the local firefighters union, said the city’s initial comments “undermined the credibility of Cincinnati’s firefighters.”

"It's wrong," Alter told The Enquirer on Tuesday.

"The firefighters were there," Alter said Tuesday. "They were on the scene. They know what they saw. They know what they heard. They know what gunshots sound like."

On Tuesday, police announced a forensic analysis of Kirkendall’s helmet was complete and that a bullet did, indeed, strike it. However, the analysis led police and investigators to believe the bullet ricocheted off at least one other surface before it struck the helmet.

"There is absolutely no evidence that there was a gunfight at the scene of this fire," police Lt. James Whalen said.

The police department says the bullet was probably not intentionally fired at Kirkendall.

Instead, Whalen said the bullet likely came from the scene where shots were reportedly fired about a block from the fire. Whalen said police will continue to investigate the shots that night.

Alter, the firefighter union chief, wants the city to say more.

“It would be great if the city spokesperson could apologize to the firefighters and specifically the ones that were on the scene,” Alter said. “Will it happen? I don’t know.

“To hear comments say that it wasn’t gunshots or wasn’t a bullet and for a city spokesperson to say it – that resulted in frustration from the firefighters. It speaks to the kind of job they have – it’s about integrity.”

Merz referred a reporter to City Manager Harry Black.

“Those discussions about the fire took place in a real time,” Black said in response to Alter's concerns. “There was nothing premeditated or intentional towards the firefighters. It was the way that the information was delivered to us. There was no ill intent, no negative intent at all. It was clearly an unusual situation.”

Black said the city is working to get to the bottom of the “very unusual” situation.

Based on an opinion of the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office, police are investigating this incident as a violation of discharging a firearm on or near prohibited premises, which is a third-degree felony. Whalen said investigators have already been assigned to the case.

Felonious assault charges are less likely than reckless endangerment charges, Whalen added.

How bad could the incident have been? Whalen said that helmets worn by firefighters are not "ballistically sound enough" to withstand a direct gunshot. Should the bullet have directly struck Kirkendall’s helmet, he may have been seriously injured.

“The fact that the bullet did as much damage as it did shows how bad this could have been,” Whalen said. “Had even the deflected bullet struck soft tissue, this could have been a pretty serious injury.”

Whalen, Black and Alter all said the safety of first responders at a scene is paramount.

“We would never put out first responders in known dangerous situations outside of what’s inside their particular job duties,” Black said.

As for the analysis of the helmet, Alter said that he was particularly pleased with the work done by the Cincinnati Police Department and the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office.

The coroner’s office crime lab analyzed the helmet and discovered the presence of lead, which led to the police department’s conclusion that a bullet hit the helmet.

The investigation into the shots fired is still in progress and police are asking anyone with information regarding the offense to contact CrimeStoppers at 513-352-3040.