A Flint Fire Department truck is shown in this 2021 Flint Journal file photo.Jake May

FLINT, MI -- Two Flint firefighters who issued an all-clear during a house fire in May on West Pulaski Street never searched a room where two children who died were later found, according to an internal investigation by the city.

The report written by Fire Chief Raymond Barton and obtained by MLive-The Flint Journal says the two firefighters, one a sergeant who has resigned and another who has been disciplined, knowingly made false reports when they claimed to have searched the home’s second-floor, calling off a continued search for entrapment victims.

Two brothers -- Zyaire Mitchell, 12, and Lamar Mitchell, 9 -- were left in smoldering heat and heavy smoke for roughly 6 minutes after the all-clear was issued until the time they were found during a secondary sweep by other firefighters who took them from the home.

Both brothers were alive when they were taken from the house but died just days later due to injuries suffered in the fire, the city has said previously.

Barton’s report says the two firefighters -- identified as Sgt. Daniel Sniegocki and Michael Zlotek -- each gave false accounts of their actions during the May 28 fire and that their “actions or lack of action possibly contributed to the loss of life of two victims” while damaging “the good name of the department.”

But a representative of Flint Firefighters Local 352 said Friday, Aug. 12, that the two men have been made scapegoats in the fatal fire investigation even though they failed to search a small room on the second floor because of extreme heat and very low visibility.

“The real question is why were kids left home alone and why were there no working smoke detectors in the home,” said Nick Kendrick, president of Local 352. “It’s a tragedy ... but this is why we do primary and secondary searches.”

Kendrick said the union has filed a grievance regarding the two-week unpaid suspension of Zlotek and said the city has put firefighters in harm’s way because of chronic understaffing, resulting in low morale.

Through Local 352, The Journal requested comments from both firefighters about the fire on West Pulaski.

Barton’s report says that during his own walk-through of the home, he saw no signs that searches were carried out in any of the second-floor bedrooms in accordance with department training, noting one bed was still made with undisturbed items on it.

The investigation says a lieutenant who led the crew that finally discovered the Mitchell boys reported “there was no way that they (the firefighters who claimed to have performed the search) entered the bedroom where the victims were found and missed them.”

The report says one of the boys was found immediately inside the bedroom door and would have been found if either firefighter had searched inside. The second brother was found on top of a bed in the same room, according to the report.

“Both (firefighters) neglected to perform the tasks of completing a sweep of the second floor ... Such neglect resulted in factually incorrect calls being made ... stating that the second-floor sweep was negative and to cancel” another fire truck that was in route.

“Due to the nature of the incident in question, and the actions or lack of action possibly contributing to the loss of life of two victims, I have determined to terminate (both firefighters’) employment with the city of Flint Fire Department,” Barton wrote in his investigation.

Rather than termination, Sniegocki resigned from the department, according to records obtained by The Journal. Zlotek was placed on an unpaid, two-week suspension and was required to complete an eight-hour search-and-rescue refresher training course.

Barton’s report says fire engines were dispatched to 637 W. Pulaski at 9:01 a.m. on May 28, and Kendrick said that call was made after a witness walked into Station 6 on Pierson Road, reporting smoke was coming from the home.

Kendrick said firefighters who carried out the search are “the top tier” of the department.

“If my life depended on these two, I’m in good shape,” he said.

Earlier this week, the city announced the resignation and discipline of the firefighters in a news release but shared few additional details from its internal investigation.

Mayor Sheldon Neeley has limited his comments to a prepared statement issued by the city.

In it, Neeley said he has “full confidence in the thorough investigation conducted and ultimately, Chief Barton’s decision.”

“The safety and security of our residents is paramount and must not be compromised. Period,” Neeley’s statement says. “We demand that our firefighters protect and serve our citizens; therefore, we must have the highest standards for their performance and zero tolerance for those who don’t meet expectations. I stand with the fire department and our community in continuing to lift the family in prayer.”

Zyaire Mitchell died June 1 at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit and Lamar Mitchell died June 3, also at Children’s Hospital, according to their obituaries.

A Michigan State Fire Marshal’s investigation earlier determined that faulty wiring caused the fatal fire and that the home did not have working smoke detectors.

Barton appeared before the City Council in late June, answering some questions about the fire and the internal investigation into the department’s response.

Sixth Ward Councilwoman Tonya Burns complained then that she had been “stonewalled” when she tried to ask for information about the circumstances surrounding the fire.

Read more at The Flint Journal:

One Flint firefighter resigns, another disciplined for roles in fatal house fire

Home where 2 Flint kids died from fire had faulty wiring, investigators say

Deadlocked jury leads to mistrial in Flint water crisis civil case

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