District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department

Last updated
District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
Patch of the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department.svg
Operational area
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
Federal district Flag of Washington, D.C.svg  District of Columbia
Agency overview [1]
EstablishedJuly 1, 1804;219 years ago (1804-07-01)
Annual calls~212,459 (2019)
Employees2,153 (2019)
Annual budget$258,502,000 (2019)
StaffingCareer
Fire chief John A. Donnelly, Sr.
Mayor of Washington, DC Muriel Bowser
EMS level Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS)
IAFF 36
Facilities and equipment [2]
Battalions9
Stations 34
Engines 33
Tillers 15
Platforms 1
Rescues 3
Ambulances 43
HAZMAT 2
USAR 1
Airport crash 1
Wildland 1
Fireboats 4
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 DC Fire & EMS), established July 1, 1804, [3] provides fire protection and emergency medical service for the District of Columbia, in 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]

Contents

History

A DCFD fire engine in December 2005. DCFireEngine.jpg
A DCFD fire engine in December 2005.
DCFD Engine Company #23 (Foggy Bottom Firehouse) Engine Company -23.jpg
DCFD Engine Company #23 (Foggy Bottom Firehouse)
DCFD Engine 7 DCFD Fire Department fire truck - 2010-09-07.jpg
DCFD Engine 7

On January 13, 1803, District of Columbia passed its first law about fire control, requiring the owner of each building in the district 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 district were private volunteer companies. To end the problems created by rivalries between these companies, District of Columbia 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 (DCFD) 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 companies, four ladder companies, 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 rife with racial tension, as the nearly all-white department became much more racially integrated and African Americans 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. Council and the District of Columbia's inspector general have strongly criticized the department's record. The District of Columbia Firefighters Association, Local 36, and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) have argued 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]

Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chief Gregory Dean

Muriel E. Bowser was sworn in as the seventh Mayor of the District of Columbia on January 2, 2015. On March 2, 2015, Mayor Bowser named Gregory Dean as Chief of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department. Dean previously served for 10 years as the Fire EMS Chief for Seattle, Washington. Chief Dean's primary focus would be stabilizing emergency medical services, boosting the department’s understaffed ranks, addressing the increasing call volume, improving training for patient care, improving vehicle fleet reliability and improving operational safety.

In June 2015, Dr. Jullette M. Saussy was selected to serve as the Medical Director of DC Fire and EMS. [10] On January 29, 2016, just months after her appointment, 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]

Dr. Robert P. Holman [12] was appointed as the interim Medical Director effective on February 16, 2016. Dr. Holman would ultimately be retained as the permanent Medical Director and is currently the Department’s longest-serving Medical Director.

Chief Dean communicated his vision, the Department's progress and it's challenges to the community in a letter published in the Washington Post on February 19, 2016 - A changing D.C. Fire and EMS Department will make the city safer.

Dr. Holman immediately went to work on improving EMS training, improving and expanding the EMS Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Office, and led the transition to criteria based dispatching. Dr. Holman would go on to establish the nation's largest 911 Nurse Triage Line (NTL), institute quarterly paramedic training symposiums, re-organize and reestablish the Department's Public Health / Street Calls Mobile Integrated Health Team, and improve the Department's Controlled Medication Program. Dr. Holman was also responsible for the co-development of DC's Sobering and Stabilization Center which opened for operation in October 2023.

Starting in March 2016, the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS) began using American Medical Response (AMR), now renamed Global Medical Response (GMR), to supplement patient transport services. AMR-GMR provides BLS patient transport services upon request from FEMS first responders.

Stations and Apparatus

Engine 10 and Truck 13's quarters in Trinidad. Truckhouse 13 DC fire.jpg
Engine 10 and Truck 13's quarters in Trinidad.
Engine 20 and Truck 12's quarters in Tenleytown Washington DC Fire Department Tenleytown Station.jpg
Engine 20 and Truck 12's quarters in Tenleytown
Firehouse 13 in L'Enfant Plaza Firehouse 13 Washington,DC L'Enfant Plaza.jpg
Firehouse 13 in L'Enfant Plaza

These are the DCFD's stations and equipment. [2] [13]

Firehouse NumberNeighborhoodEngine CompanyTruck CompanyRescue Squad CompanyAmbulance or Medic UnitSpecialized UnitCommand UnitBattalion
1 West End Engine 1Truck 2Ambulance 1
Medic 1

Ambulance 66

Twin Agent Unit 26 [14]
2 Chinatown Engine 2Rescue Squad 1Medic 2Mobile Command Unit

Rescue Squad 1 Support Unit

Battalion Chief 6

EMS 6

6 [15]
3ColumbiaEngine 3Ambulance 3
Medic 3		6 [16]
4 Pleasant Plains Engine 4Ambulance 4Air Unit 1

Community Service Unit 4

Mass Decon

EMS 7

Safety Battalion Fire Chief

Special Operations Battalion Chief

4 [17]
5 Georgetown Engine 5Medic 5Canteen Unit 1

Rehab Unit

5 [18]
6 Shaw Engine 6Truck 4Ambulance 6

Ambulance 61

1 [19]
7 Navy Yard Engine 7Medic 72 [20]
8 Lincoln Park Engine 8Ambulance 8

Medic 8

Air Unit 2

Community Service Unit 2

Mass Decon

Battalion Chief 2

EMS 2

2 [21]
9 U Street Engine 9Truck 9Ambulance 94 [22]
10 Trinidad Engine 10 Truck 13 Medic 101 [23]
11 Columbia Heights Engine 11Truck 6Ambulance 11Battalion Chief 4

EMS 4

4 [24]
12 Edgewood Engine 12 Ambulance 12Customer Service Unit 1

Gator 1

Hazmat Unit 1

Hazmat Unit 2

Haz Mat Support Unit

Battalion Chief 1

EMS 1

1 [25]
13 L'Enfant Plaza Engine 13Truck 10Ambulance 13Foam Unit 1

Foam Unit 2

Foam Trailer

Twin Agent Unit 1

6 [26]
14 Fort Totten Engine 14Ambulance 14
Medic 14		1 [27]
15 Anacostia Engine 15Rescue Squad 3Ambulance 15
Collapse Unit

Collapse Support Unit

Community Service Unit 3

Rescue Squad 3 Support Unit

Battalion Chief 3

EMS 3

3 [28]
16 Franklin Park Engine 16 Tower 3 Ambulance 16Communications Support UnitAssistant Fire Chief – Operations Bureau

Deputy Fire Chief - Operations

Deputy Fire Chief of Special Operations

Deputy Fire Chief - EMS

Battalion Fire Chief - EMS

Battalion Fire Chief - Homeland Security

6 [29]
17 Brookland Engine 17 Medic 171 [30]
18 Capitol Hill Engine 18Truck 7Ambulance 182 [31]
19 Randle Highlands Engine 19 Ambulance 19

Ambulance 19B

Medic 19

3 [32]
20 Tenleytown Engine 20Truck 12Ambulance 20Battalion Chief 5

EMS 5

5 [33]
21 Adams Morgan Engine 21 Medic 21Brush Unit5 [34]
22 Brightwood Engine 22 Truck 11Ambulance 22

Ambulance 64

4 [35]
23 Foggy Bottom Engine 23 Ambulance 236 [36]
24 Petworth Engine 24Rescue Squad 2Medic 24Mass Casualty Support Unit 1

Mass Casualty Support Unit 2

Medical Ambulance Bus 1

Medical Ambulance Bus 2

Rescue Squad 2 Support Unit

Tunnel Rescue Unit (Long Duration Breathing Apparatus)

Heavy Wrecker

Fire Investigation Unit4 [37]
25 Congress Heights Engine 25 Medic 25

Ambulance 63

Mass Decon Unit 33 [38]
26 Brentwood Engine 26 Truck 15Ambulance 261 [39]
27 Deanwood Engine 27 Ambulance 27
Medic 27

Ambulance 62

2 [40]
28 Cleveland Park Engine 28Truck 14Ambulance 285 [41]
29 Palisades Engine 29Truck 5Ambulance 29Gator 25 [42]
30 Capitol View Engine 30Truck 17Ambulance 30
Ambulance 30B
Medic 30		2 [43]
31 Chevy Chase Engine 31 Medic 31

Ambulance 65

5 [44]
32 Garfield Heights Engine 32Truck 16Ambulance 323 [45]
33 Highlands Engine 33Truck 8Ambulance 33
Medic 33		Mass Casualty Support Unit 3

Medical Ambulance Bus 3

3 [46]
Marine Fire and Rescue Station Southwest Waterfront Fire Boat 1

Fire Boat 2

Fire Boat 3

Fire Boat 4

Water Rescue Support UnitSpecial Operations Battalion [47]
Training AcademyThe School
Engine 34
Engine 35
Engine 36
Engine 37
Truck 34

Truck 35

Ambulance 34Battalion Chief 8 (Emergency Mobilization)8

See also

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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.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. ↑ "About FEMS". DC FEMS. Retrieved 2009-09-09.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 "FEMS History". About FEMS. DC FEMS. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2009-10-09. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  6. ↑ "FEMS History". About FEMS. DC FEMS. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2009-10-09. 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." [ permanent dead link ] 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. ↑ Williams, Clarence (December 28, 2018). ""If he'd stuck with family tradition, he would have been another surgeon. But he didn't."". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Fire and EMS Locations". DC Fire & EMS. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Engine House 1". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "Engine House 2". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "Engine House 3". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  17. ↑ "Engine House 4". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Engine House 5". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "Engine House 6". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Engine House 7". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "Engine House 8". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  22. ↑ "Engine House 9". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Engine House 10". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "Engine House 11". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  25. ↑ "Engine House 12". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  26. ↑ "Engine House 13". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  27. ↑ "Engine House 14". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  28. ↑ "Engine House 15". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  29. ↑ "Engine House 16". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  30. ↑ "Engine House 17". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  31. ↑ "Engine House 18". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  32. ↑ "Engine House 19". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  33. ↑ "Engine House 20". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  34. ↑ "Engine House 21". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  35. ↑ "Engine House 22". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  36. ↑ "Engine House 23". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  37. ↑ "Engine House 24". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  38. ↑ "Engine House 25". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  39. ↑ "Engine House 26". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  40. ↑ "Engine House 27". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  41. ↑ "Engine House 28". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  42. ↑ "Engine House 29". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  43. ↑ "Engine House 30". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  44. ↑ "Engine House 31". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  45. ↑ "Engine House 32". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  46. ↑ "Engine House 33". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  47. ↑ "Fire Boat". DC Fire and EMS Department. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
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