District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department
The District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department,, established September 24, 1804, 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.
History
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.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. 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. 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.
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.
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 Americans sought upper-level supervisory and management positions.
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. After a hiring freeze left 130 positions unfilled, the department was projected to spend $15.4 million in fiscal 2010. More than 75 percent of the agency's budget goes to salaries and fringe benefits.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, 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.
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. 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.
In June 2015, Jullette M. Saussy was named the medical director of DC Fire and EMS. 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."
Stations and apparatus
, these are the DCFD's stations and equipment.| Firehouse Number | Neighborhood | Engine Company | Truck Company | Squad Company | Ambulance or Medic Unit | Specialized Unit | Command Unit | Battalion | |
| 1 | West End | Engine 1 | Truck 2 | Ambulance 1 Medic 1 | Twin Agent Unit 2 | 6 | |||
| 2 | Chinatown | Engine 2 | Squad 1 | Medic 2 | Field Command Unit Mobile Command Unit Squad 1 Support Unit | Battalion Chief 6 EMS 6 | 6 | ||
| 3 | Columbia | Engine 3 | Medic 3 Ambulance 3 | Water Supply Engine 52 | 6 | ||||
| 4 | Pleasant Plains | Engine 4 | Ambulance 4 | Air Unit 1 Customer Service Unit 4 Mass Decon | EMS 7 Safety Officer Special Operations Battalion Chief | 4 | |||
| 5 | Georgetown | Engine 5 | Medic 5 | Canteen Unit 1 Rehab Unit | 5 | ||||
| 6 | Shaw | Engine 6 | Truck 4 | Ambulance 6 | 1 | ||||
| 7 | Navy Yard | Engine 7 | Medic 7 | Brush Unit 1 | 2 | ||||
| 8 | Lincoln Park | Engine 8 | Ambulance 8 Medic 8 | Air Unit 2 Customer Service Unit 2 Mass Decon | Battalion Chief 2 EMS 2 | 2 | |||
| 9 | U Street | Engine 9 | Truck 9 | Ambulance 9 | 4 | ||||
| 10 | Trinidad | Engine 10 | Truck 13 | Medic 10 | 1 | ||||
| 11 | Columbia Heights | Engine 11 | Truck 6 | Ambulance 11 | Water Supply Engine 54 | Battalion Chief 4 EMS 4 | 4 | ||
| 12 | Edgewood | Engine 12 | Ambulance 12 | Customer Service Unit 1 Gator 1 Hazmat Unit 1 Hazmat Unit 2 | Battalion Chief 1 EMS 1 | 1 | |||
| 13 | L'Enfant Plaza | Engine 13 | Truck 10 | Ambulance 13 | Foam Unit 1 Foam Unit 2 Foam Unit Trailer Twin Agent Unit 1 | 6 | |||
| 14 | Fort Totten | Engine 14 | Ambulance 14 Medic 14 | 1 | |||||
| 15 | Anacostia | Engine 15 | Squad 3 | Ambulance 15 | Cave-In Unit Cave-In Support Unit Customer Service Unit 3 Squad 3 Support Unit | Battalion Chief 3 EMS 3 | 3 | ||
| 16 | Franklin Park | Engine 16 | Tower 3 | Ambulance 16 | Deputy Fire Chief of Operations EMS 8 | 6 | |||
| 17 | Brookland | Engine 17 | Medic 17 | 1 | |||||
| 18 | Capitol Hill | Engine 18 | Truck 7 | Ambulance 18 | 2 | ||||
| 19 | Penn Branch | Engine 19 | Ambulance 19 Ambulance 19B Medic 19 | 3 | |||||
| 20 | Tenleytown | Engine 20 | Truck 12 | Ambulance 20 | Battalion Chief 5 EMS 5 | 5 | |||
| 21 | Adams Morgan | Engine 21 | Medic 21 | Water Supply Engine 55 | 5 | ||||
| 22 | Brightwood | Engine 22 | Truck 11 | Ambulance 22 | 4 | ||||
| 23 | Foggy Bottom | Engine 23 | Ambulance 23 | 6 | |||||
| 24 | Petworth | Engine 24 | Squad 2 | Medic 24 | Confined Space Unit Mass Casualty Unit 1 Mass Casualty Support Unit 1 Mass Casualty Support Unit 2 Medical Ambulance Bus 1 Medical Ambulance Bus 2 Squad 2 Support Unit | Arson Investigation officer | 4 | ||
| 25 | Congress Heights | Engine 25 | Medic 25 | Mass Decon | 3 | ||||
| 26 | Brentwood | Engine 26 | Truck 15 | Ambulance 26 | 1 | ||||
| 27 | Deanwood | Engine 27 | Ambulance 27 Medic 27 | 2 | |||||
| 28 | Cleveland Park | Engine 28 | Truck 14 | Ambulance 28 | 5 | ||||
| 29 | Palisades | Engine 29 | Truck 5 | Ambulance 29 | Gator 2 | 5 | |||
| 30 | Capitol View | Engine 30 | Truck 17 | Ambulance 30 Ambulance 30B Medic 30 | 2 | ||||
| 31 | Chevy Chase | Engine 31 | Medic 31 | 5 | |||||
| 32 | Garfield | Engine 32 | Truck 16 | Ambulance 32 | 3 | ||||
| 33 | Highlands | Engine 33 | Truck 8 | Ambulance 33 Medic 33 | Mass Casualty Unit 2 Medical Ambulance Bus 3 | 3 | |||
| Southwest Waterfront | Fire Boat 1 Fire Boat 2 Fire Boat 3 Fire Boat 4 Fire Boat Support Unit | 6 |