District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department

District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
Operational area
Country  United States
City  Washington, D.C.
Agency overview[1]
Established September 24, 1804 (1804-09-24)
Annual calls ~150,000
Employees 2,130 (2013)
Annual budget $199,373,728 (2013)
Staffing Career
Fire chief Gregory M. Dean
EMS level ALS and BLS
IAFF 36
Facilities and equipment[2]
Battalions 7
Stations 33
Engines 33
Tillers 15
Platforms 1
Rescues 3
Ambulances 14 ALS and 25 BLS
HAZMAT 2
Wildland 1
Fireboats 2
Light and air 2
Website
Official website
IAFF website

The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, (also known as DC FEMS, FEMS, DCFD, DC Fire, or Fire & EMS), established July 1, 1884,[3] provides fire protection and emergency medical service to the city of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. An organ of the devolved district government, Fire & EMS is responsible for providing fire suppression, ambulance service and hazardous materials containment for the federal district.[4]

History

A DCFD fire engine in December 2005.
DCFD Engine Company #23 (Foggy Bottom Firehouse)
DCFD Engine 7

On January 13, 1803, Washington passed its first law about fire control, requiring the owner of each building in the city to provide at least one leather firefighting bucket per story or pay a $1 fine per missing bucket.[5]

The first firefighting organizations in the city were private volunteer companies. To end the problems created by rivalries between these companies, Washington approved in 1864 an act to consolidate them and organize a paid fire department.[5] Seven years passed before it was implemented on September 23, 1871, creating the all-professional District of Columbia Fire Department with a combination of paid and volunteer staff.[3] The department had seven paid firefighters and 13 call men to answer alarms, manning three engines and two ladders.

By 1900, the DCFD had grown to 14 engine, four ladder, and two chemical companies.[3]

In 1968, the entire DCFD was mobilized during the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The four days of disorder saw widespread civil unrest, looting and arson, which ultimately required help with 70 outside companies to battle over 500 fires and perform 120 rescues.[6]

In the 1970s and 1980s, the department was riven by racial tension as the nearly all-white department became much more racially integrated and African American firefighters sought upper-level supervisory and management positions.[7]

2010s budget and maintenance problems

In January 2010, The Washington Examiner reported that, in a major management failure, the agency failed to budget for seniority pay in its fiscal 2010 budget, causing a $2 million shortfall.[8] After a hiring freeze left 130 positions unfilled, the department was projected to spend $15.4 million in fiscal 2010 (2.5 times the budgeted amount).[8] More than 75 percent of the agency's budget goes to salaries and fringe benefits.[8]

Problems with vehicle maintenance also worsened after 2010. The department lost track of the location of reserve vehicles, and sometimes listed fire engines as available for duty when they had been stripped for parts and sent to the junkyard. In 2012, the agency hired a consultant at a cost of $182,000 to create an accurate database of vehicle status and location. Both the D.C. City Council and the District of Columbia's inspector general have strongly criticized the department's record. The District of Columbia Firefighters Association, Local 36, IAFF, argues that the problem lies with poor management, while DCFEMS has said the problems either cannot be accounted for or are the result of rank-and-file incompetence or neglect.[9]

In July 2013, more than 60 DCFEMS ambulances were out of commission due to maintenance issues, and the department was forced to hire a private ambulance service to provide staffing at a Major League Baseball game. On August 8, 2013, a DCFEMS ambulance ran out of fuel while part of President Barack Obama's motorcade, and ended up stranded on the South Lawn of the White House. (EMS personnel said they reported a broken fuel gauge months ago, while DCFEMS said workers failed to fill the vehicle with gasoline.) On August 13, 2013, two DCFEMS ambulances caught fire—one while delivering a patient to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, the other while responding to an emergency call at an apartment building on Benning Road SE. (Another ambulance was dispatched to take the patient to the hospital.)[9]

In June 2015, Jullette M. Saussy was named the medical director of DC Fire and EMS.[10] On January 29, 2016, she announced her resignation from that position in a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser. In her letter, she called the department's culture "highly toxic to the delivery of any semblance of quality pre-hospital medical care."[11]

Stations and apparatus

Engine 10 and Truck 13's quarters in Trinidad.

As of June 2015, these are the DCFD's stations and equipment.[2][12]

Neighborhood Engine Company Truck Company Squad Company EMS(Emergency Medical Services)Ambulance or Medic Unit Specialized Unit Command Unit Battalion
1 Dupont CircleEngine 1Truck 2Ambulance 1
Medic 1		Twin Agent Unit 26[13]
2 Penn QuarterEngine 2Squad 1Medic 2Mass Casualty UnitEMS 6, Battalion 66[14]
3 Judiciary SquareEngine 3Ambulance 3Water Supply Engine 522[15]
4 Pleasant PlainsEngine 4Ambulance 4Air Unit 1Special Operations Battalion
Safety Battalion		4[16]
5 GeorgetownEngine 5Medic 5Rehab Unit, Canteen 15[17]
6 ShawEngine 6Truck 4Ambulance 61[18]
7 Navy YardEngine 7Medic 7Brush Unit 12[19]
8 Barney CircleEngine 8Medic 8Air Unit 2EMS 2, Battalion 22[20]
9 Adams MorganEngine 9Truck 9Ambulance 94[21]
10 TrinidadEngine 10Truck 13Ambulance 101[22]
11 Columbia HeightsEngine 11Truck 6Ambulance 11Water Supply 54EMS 4, Battalion 44[23]
12 EckingtonEngine 12Ambulance 12HazMatEMS 1, Battalion 11[24]
13 Mount Vernon SquareEngine 13Truck 10Ambulance 136[25]
14 Michigan ParkEngine 14Ambulance 14
Medic 14		1[26]
15 AnacostiaEngine 15Squad 3Ambulance 15
Medic 15		Cave in Task ForceEMS 3, Battalion 33[27]
16 DowntownEngine 16Tower 3Ambulance 16EMS Battalion
Operations Deputy		6[28]
17 BrooklandEngine 17Medic 171[29]
18 Capitol HillEngine 18Truck 7Ambulance 182[30]
19 Penn BranchEngine 19Medic 19, Ambulance 193[31]
20 TenleytownEngine 20Truck 12Ambulance 20EMS 5, Battalion 55[32]
21 Adams MorganEngine 21Medic 21Water Supply Engine 555[33]
22 BrightwoodEngine 22Truck 11Ambulance 224[34]
23 Foggy BottomEngine 23Ambulance 236[35]
24 Brightwood ParkEngine 24Squad 2Medic 24North Mass Causality Unit4[36]
25 Congress HeightsEngine 25Ambulance 25Mass Decon3[37]
26 BrentwoodEngine 26Truck 15Ambulance 261[38]
27 Eastland GardensEngine 27Ambulance 27
Medic 27		2[39]
28 Cleveland ParkEngine 28Truck 14Ambulance 285[40]
29 BerkleyEngine 29Truck 5Ambulance 295[41]
30 Capitol ViewEngine 30Truck 17Ambulance 30
Medic 30		2[42]
31 Chevy ChaseEngine 31Medic 315[43]
32 Garfield HeightsEngine 32Truck 16Ambulance 323[44]
33 BellevueEngine 33Truck 8Ambulance 33
Medic 33		South Mass Casualty Unit3[45]
Southwest WaterfrontFire Boat 1
Fire Boat 2		6[46]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "FY 2014 Proposed Budget and Financial Plan - Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department" (PDF). Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Chief Financial Officer. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Apparatus". District of Columbia Fire Department. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "FEMS History". About FEMS. DC FEMS. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  4. ↑ "About FEMS". DC FEMS. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  5. 1 2 "FEMS History". About FEMS. DC FEMS. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  6. ↑ "FEMS History". About FEMS. DC FEMS. p. 3. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  7. ↑ Hsu, Spencer S. "Black D.C. Firefighters File Lawsuit." Washington Post. October 16, 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 Neibauer, Michael. "D.C. Fire Running Millions Over Budget." The Washington Examiner. January 21, 2010.
  9. 1 2 Hermann, Peter. "Two D.C. Ambulances Catch Fire While On Call." Washington Post. August 13, 2013. Accessed 2013-08-13.
  10. ↑ "Audit finds D.C. fire officials failed to implement overhauls after 2006 death".
  11. ↑ "Jullette Saussy Resignation Letter". Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  12. ↑ "Fire and EMS Locations". DC Fire & EMS. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "Engine House 1". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Engine House 2". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "Engine House 3". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "Engine House 4". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  17. ↑ "Engine House 5". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Engine House 6". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "Engine House 7". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Engine House 8". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "Engine House 9". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  22. ↑ "Engine House 10". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Engine House 11". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "Engine House 12". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  25. ↑ "Engine House 13". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  26. ↑ "Engine House 14". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  27. ↑ "Engine House 15". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  28. ↑ "Engine House 16". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  29. ↑ "Engine House 17". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  30. ↑ "Engine House 18". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  31. ↑ "Engine House 19". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  32. ↑ "Engine House 20". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  33. ↑ "Engine House 21". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  34. ↑ "Engine House 22". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  35. ↑ "Engine House 23". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  36. ↑ "Engine House 24". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  37. ↑ "Engine House 25". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  38. ↑ "Engine House 26". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  39. ↑ "Engine House 27". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  40. ↑ "Engine House 28". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  41. ↑ "Engine House 29". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  42. ↑ "Engine House 30". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  43. ↑ "Engine House 31". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  44. ↑ "Engine House 32". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  45. ↑ "Engine House 33". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  46. ↑ "Fire Boat". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
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