The engineer who ordered a full-building evacuation during the deadly Oct. 17 Loop fire told a county-appointed panel Monday that he did what he thought was right and would make the same decision again.
Dave Rabka said he feared for his life and thought others were in danger when he radioed a security guard and ordered the evacuation.
“With the intensity of that fire, yeah, I’d make that call again,” said Rabka, an operating engineer at the Cook County Administration Building, 69 W. Washington St.
Six people died of smoke inhalation after becoming trapped on the building’s southeast stairwell, causing some, including a panel member, to criticize Rabka’s decision.
Flanked by lawyers, Rabka acknowledged for the first time publicly that he had been interviewed by investigators and has passed a lie detector test. He said he did not start the fire, and he has never been considered a suspect in the case.
It was testimony from others that drew the ire of panel member William Cousins Jr., former Illinois Appellate Court judge.
After several members of the building’s management testified that Rabka made the right decision in ordering a full evacuation, Cousins became combative.
“We know that in hindsight that if people had stayed in their offices, they’d probably be alive today,” Cousins told Anthony Woodson, the building’s security manager.
When Woodson responded that that wasn’t necessarily true, and that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed the way people react to emergencies, Cousins cut him off. “With all deference to you, I see no parallel to 9/11,” Cousins said.
When Woodson again defended Rabka’s decision, Cousins reacted sternly, saying he was “perturbed” that the building’s management continued to support the engineer’s decision.
The exchange was a departure from previous hearings, in which panel members have asked questions but offered few judgments.
Led by former federal appellate court judge Abner Mikva, the five-member panel is designed to hear testimony and make recommendations about improving building safety.
A Fire Department review of the blaze ruled the fire “incendiary,” meaning it was started by a human. The report said the blaze was fueled by gasoline but did not determine whether it was arson or an accident.
After the fire broke out, those working in the building were told over the intercom to evacuate using the stairs. Some who fled down the southeast stairwell said they were told by firefighters to go back upstairs.
When they went back up, the workers found stairwell doors locked, trapping them as smoke thickened. Some found an open door on the 27th floor and escaped down another stairwell, but six died on the stairs.
Witnesses, including several who testified Monday, have criticized firefighters for telling people to go back up and for failing to search the southeast stairwell until well after the fire was extinguished.
Several of those who testified Monday said they had told firefighters repeatedly that a cleaning lady, Teresa Zajac, was still missing, but the firefighters seemed unconcerned. Zajac was among the six who died.
Fire Department officials have said firefighters did not know anyone was trapped on the southeast stairwell.
But perhaps the most gripping testimony came from Rabka, who until Monday had not been publicly identified.
The building engineer said much of his memory of Oct. 17 is “foggy,” and that there are parts of the day he doesn’t remember.
Rabka said he arrived at the 12th floor and saw no smoke, but when he opened the door to the secretary of state’s office, he was blown backwards.
“I’m not a small guy, but it knocked me back about 3 feet,” Rabka said. “It felt like getting hit in the chest with a shovel.”
With black smoke surrounding him, Rabka said he called down to a building security guard and confirmed the fire, ordering the evacuation. When asked how many floors he ordered evacuated, Rabka said he didn’t know.
“This is where my memory starts getting foggy,” he said. “Basically, I passed out.”
But others testified Monday they heard Rabka give the full evacuation order over the building’s radio system, and he acknowledged he probably did.
“I [was] thinking about saving lives,” he said.
