By Hatzel Vela
WJLA.com
WASHINGTON — D.C.'s firefighters union and Chief Kenneth Ellerbe are at odds over a scheduling shift for ambulance crews in the District.
Ed Smith, president of the D.C. Firefighters Assoc. Local 36, says the changes could jeopardize lives. Ellerbe’s plan would shift the number of paramedics. Fewer would work over night. More would work during the day.
Smith admits there is a peak time in demand during the day, but he doesn’t think the solution is to take away from the night shift. “It’s gambling on people’s lives,” Smith says. “You’re going to take 14 units off the streets from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. It’s a bad, bad idea.”
Full story: D.C. firefighters union says chief’s ambulance crew scheduling shift could risk lives