By Dave Statter
dstatter@wusa9.com
STATter 911 — http://www.statter911.com
WUSA9 — http://www.wusa9.com
WASHINGTON — DC Fire & EMS spokesman Alan Etter tells STATter 911 four firefighters are on administrative leave with pay while an investigation is underway into charges they were avoiding emergency ambulance calls.
According to Etter, the incidents were confirmed by fire liaison officers assigned to the city’s 911 center, known as the Office of Unified Communications (OUC). Sources tell STATter 911 electronic data showed both ambulances were parked in Upper Northwest Washington for many hours rather than at firehouses in Northeast and in Southeast. Both incidents occurred during day-time hours.
The first incident was on July 11 and involved Ambulance 10. Ambulance 10 currently runs out of a garage at Gallaudet University, near the Trinidad section of Northeast, while its firehouse is being remodeled. That firehouse is among the busiest in the United States.
According to sources familiar with the investigation, the crew from Ambulance 10 was found to be parked for more than seven-hours at locations in Upper Northwest Washington about seven-miles from its quarters.
While the ambulance was reported to be in-service ready to answer calls, the crew is being investigated for avoiding emergency runs. The theory behind the allegations against the crew is that the automatic vehicle locators attached to the ambulances would not show the ambulance near any emergency calls close to its quarters. Those calls were handled by other units. By contrast, the Upper Northwest part of the city traditionally has a much lower call volume.
According to the sources, the crew was finally discovered out of its area when another EMS crew spotted Ambulance 10 parked in an Upper Northwest neighborhood. That crew contacted OUC and an investigation was started.
The second incident was on July 24. Ambulance 33, assigned to the firehouse on Atlantic Avenue, Southeast, spent two-hours and forty-minutes out-of-service, unnoticed by dispatchers. According to sources, the crew had notified dispatchers the unit was out-of-service while dropping off a paramedic at the quarters of Engine 27 on Minnesota Avenue, NE.
Eventually someone at OUC realized the ambulance had been listed out-of-service for a long time. When finally contacted by OUC, Ambulance 33 was parked on Fessenden Street near Wisconsin Avenue, NW, about 10 miles from Engine 27 and about 12 miles from its firehouse in Southeast.
According to sources, in both cases, officials at OUC were able to use software called I-Tracker to display the travels of each unit during the hours in question. Sources say investigators are also trying to determine why dispatchers did not catch each problem earlier.
Spokesman Etter tells STATter 911 a full investigation is underway. Etter said, “If it is found that any of our people were involved in inappropriate activity there will be swift and appropriate actions taken.”
Since 1972 Dave Statter has covered the news. A good deal of Dave’s reporting has focused on how fire and emergency medical services are delivered in and around Washington and Baltimore. Along the way, Dave was also a volunteer firefighter, an emergency dispatcher and a cardiac rescue technician.