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WILKES-BARRE — A $3,000 settlement was approved by county council Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by ex-911 operator Debra Pac, who the county terminated following a dispatching mistake in a fatal fire.

Pac, who was hired in February 2011, alleged wrongful termination in a suit filed against the county, county council members and former manager Robert Lawton after her firing in 2014.

Council approved the settlement in a 7-4 vote.

Councilwoman Kathy Dobash was among those opposed.

“There was a fatality in Mocanaqua, and I can’t support giving this person $3,000,” she said.

During public comment, John Pac, Debra’s husband, thanked those who voted in favor of the settlement and suggested critics do some research.

“There is much more to this story than people realize,” he said.

Pac said his wife was a call-taker and did not handle dispatching of emergency crews in this incident. Another 911 colleague who handled dispatching was not punished, he said.

“You can blame my wife all you want, but the record speaks,” said John Pac.

Debra Pac said she was reinstated in May 2015 but resigned in June 2015. She told reporters she was a “scapegoat.”

The county’s attorneys and its outside counsel recommended approving the settlement.

The fire occurred May 15, 2014, in the Mocanaqua section of Conyngham Township, where Michelle Dzoch, 52, died in a blaze that a fire marshal said started on the second floor of a home she was renting at 76 Main St. Her body was found on the second floor, where the roof had collapsed.

Dzoch was pronounced dead at the scene, though her daughter and two grandchildren got out of the house safely. The cause of the fire was later determined to be a lighter that children, ages 3 and 5, were playing with.

Questions arose almost immediately about an apparent delay in response time. A review of county 911 dispatch logs showed that at 10:47 a.m., firefighters were initially sent to Main Street in Conyngham Borough — just north of Hazleton and about 14 miles from Mocanaqua — instead of Main Street in Conyngham Township. Records showed firefighters were dispatched to the correct address at 10:53 a.m.

County Coroner Bill Lisman ruled the death accidental. At the time, he said it was impossible to determine an exact time of death or if summoning crews five minutes earlier would have made a difference.

The Luzerne County Courthouse, where county council on Tuesday decided against repealing a county residency requirement for top management positions.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_luzcocourthouse01.jpg.optimal.jpgThe Luzerne County Courthouse, where county council on Tuesday decided against repealing a county residency requirement for top management positions.

By Joe Dolinsky

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Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL